Naruto of the Shinsougan
by Dragolight
Summary: Naruto befriends Kyuubi at five years old. He gets a chakra mutation that gives control over light and other cool things like an ocular jutsu that puts the Byakugan to shame. He is taken in by Hyuuga Hiashi and his wife and raised by them. Very strong Naruto but not God-like (at first). Will contain non-explicit suggestive adult themes, violence and coarse language. NaruHina.
1. Chapter 1

Quote from a fanfic I read. Author: DarkFayt

„_Before you begin to read my fic I just wanted to say that if you try to bring religious beliefs, the laws of physics, or even if you are tied to cannon facts and timelines then you will have a very limited story selection on this site. When you open up a fan-fiction or book in general you need to leave your concepts at the door and let yourself be carried away by the views of the writer. Seeing into the imagination and personal world of another is the reason for stories to exist. That is how you truly enjoy a story. Let yourself be absorbed by the words and beliefs of another. Thank you all and I hope you will remember my words while reading this story and any other..."_

I myself am a lover of fanfics that respect the main plotline and will try to change only certain events and outcomes, but stick to the main story. One of the things I personally can't stand is that people tend to exaggerate things than they are in the original plotline. I mean if you make a fanfic of it then I am almost certain that you love the original. It took me nearly 30 fanfics read until I got the message above and countless (not really but I just lost count) more until I actually found these words. So… let's move on to what I plan to make in this story.

IMPORTANT! This is my first fanfic and English is not my native language so please be merciful.

************* !SPOILER ALERT! *************************

Naruto will be very strong but not God-like. He won't be able to kill a Sannin straight out of the academy but could give Kakashi a good workout.

Follow the KISS rule. (Keep it simple, stupid!(not simple and stupid)) (Edit: I failed T_T)

Naruto gets a special adaptation of Ranpu (Light) chakra. Abilities: control of ALL forms of electromagnetic radiation (from radio waves, x-rays, microwaves to gamma radiation), purification capabilities but nearly no healing power, can interfere with Raiton jutsu and magnetic chakra and some smaller bonuses that you will see. NOT A KEKKEI GENKAI. It is a 'mutation' of Naruto's chakra.

Kyuubi becomes buddies with Naruto.

Hinata gets kidnaped when she was five years old and is four years older than Hanabi.

Other than that he will follow the main path of the story

There will be surprises. Kakashi will be one.

*************** !END SPOILER******************************

Disclamer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto related stuff and characters!

Without further ado let's begin the story:

It was a cloudless night in Konoha, the village hidden between the leaves. Everywhere you looked you could see destruction. A few hours ago the village was attacked by a monstrous entity called a Bijuu. This Bijuu happened to be the strongest one, and went by the title Kyuubi no Yoko (Nine-tailed Fox). The stench of death rested heavily in the air around the ninja village and its inhabitants who were busy counting the dead.

The beast was defeated by the one ninja the village called Yondaime Hokage (Fourth Fire Shadow), Minato Namikaze by sealing it inside a blond newborn baby. The preliminary death count had just came and delivered to the council presided by the Saindaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen (Third fire shadow).

The council was assembled to determine the newborn's fate.

"Burn him! Burn the DEMON! He injured my husband and killed so many others!" screamed one white haired but young woman.

"Councilor Haruno, for the fifteenth and FINAL time, we are not gathered here to decide if to execute the boy, but to find a good solution about his placement! If you can't get this through your thick head then stay silent, leave or be EXECUTED! This is your last warning! " and with that the aged Hokage released a lot of killer intent almost making the woman faint!

"BUT…" she wanted to protest until two ANBU, one with a ryuu (dragon) shaped and one inu (dog) shaped masks appeared from the background shadows and move their blades near the neck a hair's width from the skin.

"As you can see, my word will be respected in these proceedings. Besides I can give you three good reasons to ignore your requests. One is that Minato desired for this child to be seen as a hero and jailor of the Kyuubi and not as the demon incarnate. You disrespect his sacrifice to this village and to you indirectly by trying to have this boy killed. Two would be the fact that the Civilian Council has no power over military matters such as execution. And…" his words were interrupted when an aged but not too old man with white long hair, red paint marks on his face and a huge scroll on his back split the doors open and stomped inside.

"Jiraya what is the meaning of this?" asked Hiruzen.

"I came to give you an even better reason number three." he then turned to the council. "Because if anything happens to this boy, consider me and my spy network an enemy of the Leaf!" he proclaimed.

The room was in an uproar. Why would one of the Sannin declare war on the village if something should happen to some random brat.

"Jiraya-sama why would you go so far to protect this boy from harm? He is nothing but a monst..!" a random civilian council member protested until he was silenced by a two kunai grazing each side of his head and a third near his 'jewels'.

"I will not let you accuse this boy unjustly like that…" growled Jiraya. "… unless you say that you are a Seal Master greater than Minato or myself! I examined the seal and it is flawless, unless you decide to insult my student's, your Yondaime Hokage, and the world's greatest Fuin expert's memory and the Shinigami, a freaking GOD, you will all shut up and be quiet unless you have a good idea about this child's care or are spoken to." yelled Jiraya with loads of killer intent, knocking out two civilian members.

The Sandaime coughed to clear his throat. "Now that that discussion is over, let us get back to the matter at hand. This boy needs a family to care for him will anyone here take the boy to be raised?" everybody turned their stare from the aged Hokage, until one old man who looked more like a mummy than human with his bandages covering part of his face, one eye and having one other arm wrapped around his waist in bandages, raised his hand.

"No Danzo, I will not let you have the hero of our village to turn him into a mindless killer! He is destined for greatness and will not become a pawn in your schemes." Sandaime stared at the old war hawk when this one lowered his hand and clicked his tongue. He then looked at the other members of the Konoha council and was utterly disappointed.

"Is this the behavior befitting of the villagers the Fourth gave his life for? I am too old and must still look after this village and my wife is dead, but my heart weeps that I could not take him in! Jiraya must maintain his spy network as this village's one and only spy master! Now tell me what is your excuse?" the old Fire Shadow growled at the 'people' in front of him.

Hyuuga Hiashi was the first to answer. "I understand lord Hokage as I too would love to take the boy that my closest friend Minato proclaimed a hero, but in my household he would be tortured by his peers and he himself would not understand why, not only because of the Bijuu but also because of our eyes. I honestly apologize to both you and Minato!" the head Hyuuga then sat down after bowing deeply.

"Understandable… as with all clans who poses kekkei genkai or secret jutsu." said Hiruzen turning towards the civilian part. "Do I even need to ask?" The councilors still looked away and were silent. "WELL?" Sarutobi screamed. They all shook their heads.

The Hokage let out a sigh. "Then I have no choice. The boy shall be placed under the supervision of…" Danzo was flashing his 'I WIN! ' grin when Hiruzen finished "… the orphanage!".

The war hawk jumped on his feet to say "Hokage-sama you can't be serious! He must be properly trained to control the beast within him!"

"The boy shall be trained Danzo…" The mummy's eye widened "… if he chooses to join the academy at the right age! I will not argue this further with you! Stand down or I will charge you with treason and insubordination! the old man was on a roll with Danzo who sat down at the sound of that warning.

"I declare this meeting and its discussions, highest S-class secret! You will not be allowed to talk about it under penalty of death. Also this category of secret is that no one will ever be allowed to speak about the contents of the boy's seal except myself and the boy himself. This meeting is adjourned." declared the Hokage. "Inu!"

"Yes sir!" the AMBU with a dog mask appeared in front of him.

"Take him to the orphanage and sign him under the name of Naruto Uzumaiki!"

"HAI!" the ANBU took the boy and disappeared.

Almost four and a half years later a small blond child was running away from an angry mob, dashing under fences and jumping wherever he could. However he was still a toddler running from a mob led by shinobi.

The child had gotten away from the civilians but one of the said shinobi, a Chuunin, shunshined in front of the boy kunai at the ready. The boy pleaded with his attacker to leave him alone.

"Please don't hurt me! I didn't do anything!

"Don't try to trick me DEMON! You will pay for the lives you have taken!

The man fired a kunai just when two swords slashed his neck and abdomen horizontally. But it was too late as the kunai that the Chuunin fired sailed through the air and impaled itself into Naruto's chest missing his heart by a thousandth of an inch and causing heavy damage to his lungs and arteries.

"SHIT!" exclaimed the dog-masked ANBU. "Ryuu we got to take him to the hospital! These wounds are bad!" he ordered.

"HAI!" the dragon accepted it and they both vanished taking to the roof.

On his way there, Naruto drifted to his subconscious. He woke up in a sewer completely healed and wondering where he was. He then heard a low growl coming from a corridor he was in. Deciding to follow his instincts he let himself find the voice by following the red and blue pipes that connected into what seemed like white boxes before splitting again into more red and blue pipes. He followed the biggest ones until he reached a massive chamber with golden iron bars that had a strange character written in their middle. Oh how Naruto wished he could read.

"**Come closer!**" the darkness behind the bars ordered the boy in a low and soft growling type of voice.

He did so until he was a few feet from the bars. Then out of the darkness two red eyes appeared that looked like they will burn into your soul.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto as if he was mesmerized by the strong eyes. To you or me those eyes would have spelled evil right away but the boy was no stranger to hiding your feelings even at such a tender age. He saw something else in them, sadness and regret.

All of a sudden a figure stepped out into the light that looked like a gigantic fox.

"**Take a guess!**"it answered and flashed his tails in the air, nine in number.

The boy's eyes widened and he lost a shade of color in his face. "Kyuubi no Yoko!"

"**That's right kit!**" the fox smirked.

"Where are we? And why are you here? The Yondaime Hokage killed you!" the boy calmed down and asked.

"**We are inside you kit, in a place called your mindscape. It is a place in your mind where we can meet and talk. As for your second question, think about it, I am an eternal Bijuu with more chakra than your village's citizens combined, shinobi included… even Hokage. How could one ninja kill me?**" the fox answered Naruto with boredom written on his face.

Naruto was shocked by the truth of his situation. "He didn't kill you. He put you inside me!"

"**The correct term is 'sealed', and yes, he sealed me inside you… well half of me anyway. He took away my Yin or spiritual chakra to keep my will from influencing you!**" the Kyuubi was a little angry at the Hokage's transgression but also carried respect into his eyes at the recollection of the memory. "**Not that it would do much good. I know how his people treat you kit. Release me and let's have our revenge!**" snickered Kyuubi.

"No. I don't want revenge, I only… wanted to know why they treat me with fear and hatred. I don't want to destroy the village. How could I be Hokage without Konoha?" smiled the blond but his expression changed immediately to an emotionless one.

"Why?" Naruto asked looking at the huge fox but not at his face. The beast raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you attack Konoha years ago? What did the village do to you? the boy completed his question, staring directly into his prisoner's sight.

"**He-he, well, I was bored and wanted to have some fun!**" the fox grinned at Naruto.

There was a moment of silence from the kid as he stared at the shallow water at his feet with his bangs shadowing the top part of his face.

"Liar!" Naruto whispered.

"**What?**" the Bijuu asked.

Naruto jerked his face up with pain in his sky blue eyes.

"I SAID YOU ARE A LIAR!" yelled the boy. "DON'T LIE TO ME! I CAN SEE THE REGRET IN YOUR EYES WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT DAY! AND I SAW THE PAIN WHEN YOU LIED! the blond started sobbing with half closed eyes "AND I CAN ALSO SEE THAT YOU ARE NOT EVIL AT ALL JUST ..."

The fox dropped his smile and launched a claw at the child through the bars that stopped near his face.

"Why did you stop your claw? You had enough space and if I die in here you will have my body and be free. " Naruto stopped sobbing and was looking with compassion at the Kyuubi.

This shocked the fox bad as he started stuttering.

"I…I don't …"

"See! You are not evil you are just… in pain. Why?" the boy was concerned for his prisoner.

Now the silence came from the fox.

"**Why do you care brat?**" asked the fox trying to hide his own insecurity.

"Because… I know how bad it hurts… when nobody cares if you are hurting. Nobody deserves that kind of treatment, Bijuu or human… nobody does." Naruto answered sincerely.

The Bijuu was thinking something deep as the top part of his face was shadowed and his eyes were closed.

"**You… remind me of somebody I knew … a long time ago kit! He was also a kind busybody who could read the pain in one's soul…**"

"If you don't mind me asking… who?" the kid tilted his head slightly with a cute and curious look.

"**The original shinobi…and my father. The Sage of Six Paths.**" the Bijuu answered as a tear fell down his cheeks. "**He was also a person who cared for the sufferings of others selflessly. He created jutsus to help the suffering and the weak and as a result of his battle with my "mother", he created me and my eight other brothers.**"

Naruto listened to the fox in wonder.

"**My "mother" was a titanic demon called the Jyuubi (Ten Tails). It rampaged across the countryside leaving destruction in its wake and causing pain and suffering to all that it came across. The old man could not stand this and battled the monster until it appeared as if it was winning. With a flash of genius the man created a seal and became the first Jinchuriki (Human sacrifice) or a human with a Bijuu sealed inside of him… But it was powerful and so near his death he used an incredible technique and split its chakra into nine others, one of which created me.**"

The blond was siting lotus style on the wet floor of the sewer prison and was absorbing the knowledge of this story.

"**Before he passed on he told us that we were born out of the Jyuubi's soul but we could follow the right path.**" Kyuubi felt sorrow drown him.

"**I'm sorry old man! I let you down!**" he cried looking to the ceiling.

"NO! YOU DID NOT!" yelled Naruto. "WAKE UP! WHO TOLD YOU THAT? WHO MADE YOU THINK LIKE THAT?" Naruto screamed as loud as his lungs could let him.

"**People have used us as tools of war for a long time kit. You weren't my first host! I just let their anger and greed leech into me and lost my way into darkness! I failed!**" the fox was looking depressed.

"SO? WHEN YOU HIT THE BOTTOM THERE IS NOTHING TO DO BUT CLIMB UP. SNAP OUT OF IT DAMN IT! THE PAST IS HISTORY! YOU HAVE A WHOLE FUTURE TO MAKE AMENDS AND CHANGE! IF YOU ADMIT DEFEAT SO EASILY I WILL PERSONALLY KICK YOUR ASS BACK ONTO THE RIGHT PATH! YOU HAVE MY WORD! AND I NEVER GO BACK ON MY WORD FOR THAT IS MY NINDO (ninja way)! the boy yelled at the fox with diamond hard resolve.

Kyuubi looked at him in wonder and shock.

*Flashback*

An elderly man stood in front of a young Kyuubi and his other tailed brothers. He was the Sage of Six Paths, founder of the ninja world.

The kind man was giving them his final words and between them was the line:

"… _and unlike when you were within me, you will be lead down the right path…"_

*Flashback end*

"**Kurama.**" he whispered.

"What?" the blond asked.

"**My name is Kurama.**" and with that he gently stretched a claw through the bars.

"He-he! It's nice to meet you Kurama-nii-san! I am Naruto Uzumaki, the future greatest Hokage!" the kid grinned and touched the claw. Both he and Kurama smiled.

Naruto woke up in the hospital ward with his chest bandaged and a little painful but not too bad. He remembered his talk with Kurama-nii and how he told him that he will protect him the best he could and if he ever wanted help, he would gladly give it. He also showed Naruto how to access his chakra. That's when they both got a surprise.

*Flashback*

"**Okay kit, close your eyes and look deep inside of you. You should feel it as pure power coursing through you.**"

"Found it!" answered the blond.

"**Grab it and don't let it slip! Pull it up as you return from inside your mind!**"

"Alright, here I go!" and after two seconds Naruto opened his eyes and found himself swirling with bluish chakra.

"**Great job kit! Wha…?**" the fox was surprised when the child's blue chakra started shining white as all the squares on the walls of the mindscape started glowing in the same way.

"What? What's going on? Naruto got a little nervous at his nii-san's reaction.

"**Well I'll be…! Looks like you got Ranpu (light) chakra capabilities kid! Congrats! I haven't seen that in nearly four hundred years! Strange though, it usually appears in people exposed to poisons or diseases as it has strong purification abilities but my chakra should have kept you safe from th … . OF COURSE, MY CHAKRA!**" Kurama was acting strange while explaining the strange light to Naruto.

"What's wrong? Is it bad?" the kid was getting worried.

"**No kit. It's just that the Ranpu chakra in your body manifested as a result of this seal leaking my chakra into your system. If taken without my approval, it is highly corrosive and dangerous for any human but because it was a small amount over time your body adapted to turning your Yin chakra into Ranpu element as a safeguard against my Yang chakra that got transferred to you without my help.**"

"Cool! So what can it do? the child was getting excited.

"**Like I said, it has powerful purification abilities in the form of energetic radiation. You can heal any disease and neutralize any poison in your own body as well as other people. Besides that it gives you control of any form of light or radiation. Plus it can energize your whole body or specific body parts to work better. I think I even remember a few jutsu using light element and you don't have to do training to use them since your body can produce it naturally instead of you willing your chakra to change into it like normal elemental jutsu. Try directing some chakra to your eyes and after that send some to your brain.**" Kurama explained.

Naruto struggled with it at first but then got the part with the eyes. When he opened them he was shocked as he could see his nii-san's chakra pathways as clear as day and also his outline seemed filled with spots in covering the whole spectrum from red to blue. He could see all details in a way that would make a Hyuuga green with envy as well as a whole lot of things and energies that he didn't see or notice before.

"**That, Naruto, is called the Shinsougan no Jutsu (Eyes of Truth technique). It lets you see in the dark, see chakra and chakra pathways. Also thermal vision, and judging by your expression that is what you are seeing now in me. You see hotter spots from orange, red or white for the hottest and blue, violet or black for colder. Also you can see x-rays and gamma rays and that lets you see through walls. You can also see in a perfect sphere around yourself and amplify natural light to zoom to any distance proportional to your chakra quantity and control. It also makes you very resistant to genjutsu or any kind of illusions. It is believed that this was what caused the birth of the Byakugan though nobody knows for sure."**

Naruto got that part down and got to sending Ranpu chakra to his brain. Everything slowed down, even him. This worried him a little and caused him to release the technique.

"**I see that you tried the Soujin** Seishin no Jutsu (Mind Purification technique) . It accelerates your thoughts as well as clearing your mind of unnecessary thoughts. It gives you the same mental steadiness as a master monk's as well as a good amount of extra thinking time. Also you see everything slowed down so you will have a detail view of every action giving you time to plan your next move or analyze a fast situation ... or jutsu. Just like the previous jutsu, it's limited only by the quantity of Ranpu chakra you."

The kid was excited that he could do something so awesome and was wondering if Kurama knew anything more. Unfortunately the fox couldn't remember anything more except that he could purify another person by placing his hands directly on the skin of that person and pumping pure Ranpu chakra into that person.

*Flashback end*

Two months later, on the 10th of October was the festival celebrating the Yondaime Hokage's defeat of the Kyuubi and coincidently it was also Naruto's birthday. And what a birthday present he got! He was kicked out of the orphanage, the caretakers saying he was old enough to 'live' on his own. And by live, she really meant and hoped 'die'. For the next four months and three weeks he managed to survive during which, when he fainted from hunger, he was found by Ayame and her father Teuchi and given his first ever bowl of ramen. Besides saving him from death, he fell in love with the stuff. They also notified the Hokage who turned the caretakers at the orphanage into weekly practice dummies for Ibiki also known as The Sadist, head of the Torture and Interrogation division and Anko, his second in command.

Sarutobi also gave Naruto an apartment in the slums as this was the only place that accepted him.

Later that day he went to the woods to train his Shinsougan and Soujin Seishin. He was making good with this since Kurama stopped sending his will with the Bijuu chakra that leaks into the boy due to the seal. This cured his chakra of instabilities since the blue one stopped 'fighting' the red one, giving him a boost in stamina as well.

The blond then noticed a small girl a hundred and fifty feet away from him (using his Ranpu empowered eyes) about to be attacked by a bear. He took off in her direction to help her but when he got close enough to hear her he saw a beautiful woman rushing to her side. She was dressed in a light sky-blue kimono with white rose patterns on it. She had silky dark blue hair that reached to her waist, with two bangs on each side of her face. And what he noticed the most was the fact that she had the same milky white eyes that the little girl had. But her eyes had pupils compared to the girl and some veins were bulging out around them.

She ran towards the bear at high speed and Naruto activated his two Ranpu jutsu on instinct and watched how she got into a stance with her feet spread apart, left in front of right, her left arm was stretched a few inches above the left foot with the palm facing the sky. Her right arm followed the same line that her left created and was higher above her right leg since her torso was bent towards the front. The boy noticed that in each of her hands, the index and middle fingers were grouped together and were stretched more than the others. He also noticed how chakra formed a sort of sharp tip or needle on the tips of the said fingers.

The woman then leapt at the bear yelling "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō" (Eight trigrams: Sixty-four palms). Naruto's eyes widened as she saw her hitting the bear's Tenketsu (Chakra points) (he knew about them because Kurama told him all about the chakra system during one of his visits to his mindscape).

"Two points!" she said and struck two Tenketsu.

"Four points!" and struck another two.

"Eight points!" another four.

"Sixteen points!" closing eight more.

"Thirty-two points!" she hits sixteen more.

"Sixty-four points!" she finishes with the 32 last hits.

Naruto was mesmerized by the movements as they flowed with grace and power as well as speed and precision. If he didn't have his jutsus on he would have seen only a blur, but with them active the action was engraved into his memory.

The woman then relaxed and her eyes lost their pupils, deflating the blood vessels near them. She then turned to her daughter. Naruto saw this and took it as a sign to scram.

A week later he found himself practicing in the same woods again. He didn't even notice it was late. In the village there was another festival to celebrate the signing of the peace agreement between Konoha and Kumogakure (Village Hidden in the Clouds). There was a huge precession earlier as the head Kumo nin entered in front of the cloud delegates.

For Naruto this meant more noise, more smells of cooked food late into the night and especially more drunkard 'avengers' against the 'demon'.

He was resting a little with his Shinsougan active when he noticed an unknown presence sneaking into the Hyuuga compound. He hid inside some bushes. Moments later that same shinobi came out with a bag that contained the girl he saw a week ago. 'Kidnap!' he thought. He jumped out of the bushes, Shinsougan alit.

"Let her go!" he commanded.

The shinobi was a little surprised but then he noticed that he sensed no other presence nearby.

"Get out of my way brat!" he returned.

Naruto growled a little and then launched forward. "I said let her go!" the boy spoke jumping to punch at the guy in the face.

The man simply evaded and sent a strong kick to Naruto's abdomen that caused the boy to spit blood and fly 15 feet away.

"**Kit, use my power!**" Kurama urged the boy.

The blond then felt a huge amount of power surge through him and his body flashed with a thin aura of orange light. He then kicked his feet and blasted at the kidnaper with incredible speed and hit a pressure point that paralyzed the man making him fall limp on the ground. He then checked on the girl and when he noticed she was unharmed he let go of his nii-san's chakra.

Naruto then coughed blood and lost consciousness falling face first into the ground.

Just then Hiashi ran out the house and knelt near the two children and two ANBU appeared near.

"Hiashi-sama! Are you alright? We felt an unknown chakra spike somewhere around here." the cat-shape masked ANBU asked the Hyuuga head with a woman's voice.

The man answered back: "I felt the same spike as well but when I awoke I activated my Byakugan and saw this boy fighting this man! I rushed out to intercept them but by the time I got here both had passed out." said Hiashi pointing at the two while making sure his daughter was alright.

"Isn't that Naruto? I know him because Hokage-sama has me guard him sometimes. " the cat ANBU mentioned.

" The unknown is still alive! I don't know if that boy was lucky or aimed for it, but he hit a pressure point near the right shoulder and paralyzed him. He will come to in about two hours." and he reached for his mask. He pulled it off. It was the Kumo Head nin.

"What was Naruto doing fighting him here?" cat asked.

"Wait Neko (cat)! I can smell knock out drugs!" said the second ANBU who had a wolf mask.

"What?" cat was surprised.

They then checked the pockets of the Kumo nin and found a small bottle filled with liquid as well as a handkerchief that gave off the smell. All three of them look at the sleeping little girl and said in unison.

"Kidnapping!"

Then cat said "What's wrong with the boy?"

Hiashi activated his Byakugan and looked at the kid and then answered. "He appears to be exhausted, has some internal injuries to his right lung and a broken rib that are already healing. It doesn't seem serious. I will bring this boy inside my compound to be looked after until he heals. You should take that scum to the T&I HQ.". He then went inside the house.

"HAI!" they both answered in unison and picking up the unconscious shinobi and disappeared.

The next day Naruto awoke inside an expensive futon and an unfamiliar house. He jumped out of bed and noticed a sharp pain in his side. He was also found out that he was dressed in an expensive looking sleeping robe made of silk.

Then the memory of last night's fight came to him and figured out that his pain was caused by a kind of injury.

"**Don't worry kit! I will have you patched up by noon.**" the fox reassured him.

'Nii-san do you happen to know what happened to me after?

"**Sorry Naruto, but when you black out it cuts my connection to the outside world as well.**"

'I see!'

Then there was a knock at the door.

"Naruto-sama, are your awake yet?" a soft woman's voice asked behind the screen of the door.

"Yes! Umm… could you please tell me where are we?"

"We are in the Hyuuga compound main branch house. If you can, will you get changed and follow me. Hiashi-sama wants to see you for breakfast."

"Sure!"

The blond looked around but couldn't find his clothes.

"Sorry but could you please tell me where can I find my clothes?"

"Your clothes have been sent to be washed. As soon as they dry they will be delivered to this room. Until then feel free to use the clothes on the table." she answered.

"Thank you!"

Naruto got dressed in the white silk kimono with a high quality black sash that was on the table and walked out the door. He then saw the woman standing in a kneeling position (seiza if I'm not mistaken). She was fair but not what you would call a stunning beauty but she radiated a calming sensation. She had the same milky white Byakugan as the rest of the Hyuuga and was dressed in a simple yet expensive looking kimono with a dark blue sash and had a long piece of white silk covering her forehead tied in a cute bowtie to the right of her head highlighting her dark blue hair.

"Follow me please!" she said after getting up.

"Umm… would you mind me asking your name miss? Naruto said a little shaky , still nervous for being in the compound.

"Yukihime Hyuuga, but you may call me Yuki!" she smiled.

"Nice to meet you Yuki-san!" he bowed his head slightly. She did the same.

Moments later they arrived at a large door and Yuki said: "Hiashi-sama, Naruto-sama has arrived!"

"Send him in!" Hiashi answered.

She opened the door and Naruto entered. The door closed behind him and the boy noticed that he was in a big dining room with Hiashi in the center of what looked like a group of old Hyuugas. Except that to the man's right stood the same woman that defeated the bear and to his left stood what looked like a clone of Hiashi only that he was wearing a Konoha nin's Hitai-ate (headband).

Naruto stood standing two steps away from the door. Kurama had taught him proper etiquette when dealing with nobles. One of the rules was to never do something if they don't invite you first.

"Please, sit down and eat." the head Hyuuga invited Naruto.

"Thank you sir!" Naruto bowed and took a place at the table but before he ate he had to ask something.

"Umm … I thank you once again for inviting me Hiashi-sama but I must ask why are you doing this for me?" he asked hoping he wasn't rude.

"Is it that odd for a father to offer a meal to his daughter's rescuer? You are only 5 years old and yet you have received internal injuries fighting for my girl's safety. I would like to thank you and offer you a room to stay here until you recover."

Naruto blushed and looked in his lap until he hears a kind and loving voice.

"And I would like to thank you as well! You risked your life for a complete stranger and that is a very commendable action!" said the beautiful woman next to Hiashi.

"It was nothing. Umm… forgive me but who are you?"

"Oh my forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself! I am Hinata-chan's mother. My name is Hyuuga.."

Just then she was interrupted by an old man at the end of the table.

"NEVER! I WILL NOT ALLOW THAT DEMON SPAWN TO DESECRATE OUR CLAN'S NAME EVEN IF I DIE FIGHTING!" and with that he charged at Naruto with his left hand forward and his right cocked back.

Naruto activated his Shinsougan, Soujin Seishin and drew on the Bijuu's chakra barely dodging that man's Jyuuken strike.

'Shit, he really is trying to kill me! There is only one thing I can do now and I do hope it works.'

The blond jumped back and flew through an open door into the Hyuuga's back yard. He then proceeded to stand still with his eyes closed.

The old man came charging at him ignoring Hiashi's orders to stand down. He then fired a palm full of chakra at Naruto.

Naruto spun on his heel and avoided that strike surprising everyone present. He was three feet away from the old man when he opened his eyes and they were shining with an intense white glow. He then bent his torso towards the elder Hyuuga and spread his legs, left forward with his arm above it, palm to the sky. The right side was a mirror image of his left with the mirror being the boy's spine. The elder seemed to be frozen in place from the sight. A green Yin-Yang circle appeared with both of them in the middle of it, at the center of other concentric green circles.

The blond then said in a voice that lacked emotion. "You are within my reach, HAKKE HYAKU NIJUUHACHI SHO! (Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms)". He then gathered Kurama's chakra to energize his body and blasted the senile old Hyuuga's non-vital Tenketsu. "Two strikes, four strikes, eight strikes, sixteen strikes, thirty-two strikes, sixty-four strikes…" by now the old man was backed against a wooden training post that was being cracked by the intense chakra that went through the old man. "…one hundred twenty-eight strikes!" and with the last hit, the massive wooden post was destroyed and the elder sent flying to a wall, cracking it as he hit. He then fell limp and panting.

After confirming his opponent's defeat, Naruto relaxed allowing the Bijuu's chakra to recede. This made him wobble and pant as the strain of this energy on the boy's young body was a little too much for it to handle. Then he heard a 'thud'.

The blond turned around and saw a lot of stupefied Hyuuga besides Hiashi and his 'clone' kneeling over his collapsed wife, both of them calling for a doctor. Naruto gathered what remained of his stamina and jumped to their side.

"What happened to her?" the boy said as he dragged himself to Hiashi's side.

The man was holding his wife's head as she was unconscious, breathing hard and sweating like she had a bad nightmare.

"My wife has a sickness that causes her internal organs to poison her body, and it only gets worse whenever she is stressed or excited. The birth of our second daughter Hanabi made it worse to the point that she can die from just about anything that causes her surprise or upsets her. I try to protect her the best that I could but this event might just be …" the apparently emotionless man felt a tear dripping down tear as he closed his eyes and bit his lip.

Naruto was torn up inside by this news. Even though he was defending himself, he was to blame for this as well. And she was one of the few people that looked at him kindly and even appreciated him, and she was now dying, slowly poisoned by her body…

'WAIT! POISON? THAT'S IT!' the blond remembered something.

'KURAMA!' he started mentally shouting.

"**What is it kit?**" the fox responded.

'PLEASE! GIVE ME ALL THE POWER YOU CAN!' answered the boy.

"**What's wrong?**"

'ASK ME LATER, NOW PLEASE!'

"**Okay!**"

Naruto felt power rising up from within him. He started glowing, being covered by an orange aura that looked a lot like flames (think chakra cloak but make it more transparent and less obvious) making some of the Hyuugas present take a step back.

In one swift motion he exposed the collapsed woman's abdomen and placed his right hand on it and his left on her forehead.

Hiashi almost backhanded him. How dare he disgrace his wife. Has this boy no shame? But the man then noticed the boy's hands glowing intensely white that made it difficult to look at them.

The hands glowed even brighter and the light extended from his hands slowly covering the woman's body. Hiashi then noticed that the color in his wife's cheeks was returning and she her breathing was returning to normal. She was calming down. Intrigued by this change, the man activated his Byakugan and watched as the white chakra flowed through his loved one's body removing any harmful substance from her bloodstream, energizing her as it passed through her organs.

When this was finished the woman lay peacefully asleep and Naruto passed out from exhaustion.

"Nii-sama (honorable brother) what happened?" Hiashi's 'clone' asked.

"Hizashi, this boy… that chakra … cleaned… my wife's body and strengthened her! I don't know how but he purified her blood and saved her life… he passed out from the strain! Take him inside to rest and have someone watch over him!" ordered the head Hyuuga as he picked up his sleeping wife bridal style and took her inside the house.

"Hai!" Hizashi answered and moved to the boy lifting him up in a similar manner. "I don't know how you did it kid but you earned Hiashi's gratitude twice now." he whispered to the blond. The blond responded "Yuki…san".

The man realized what the boy was saying. "Send for Yukihime and have her watch over this boy!" Hizashi ordered and the present Hyuuga complied.

Two days later Naruto was sleeping when he felt something cold and wet moving across his face. He opened his eyes and saw Yuki knelt down next to his head, wiping his forehead.

"Hello Yuki-san! What time is it?" he asked wearily.

"Good morning Naruto-sama! It is nine o'clock in the morning. You slept the whole day after you saved Hiashi-sama's wife and the day after. I watched over you this whole time!" she said with a smile.

"Thank you and I'm sorry for being a bother!" said a slightly embarrassed Naruto.

"It was no trouble Naruto-sama!" she answered to the boy but her eyes clearly showed pain.

"Liar! Your eyes… are like mine… they show pain! Why?" the boy was concerned and saddened.

The woman bit her lip and lashed her head at the boy. "Why do you care? Nobody does!" she answered. The boy stood silent. "What do you know about pain? You are a child that does nothing but dream, play and then head home where your parents feed you and read you a bedtime story. I'LL TELL YOU, YOU KNOW NOTHING OF TRUE PAIN!".

The boy just bit his lip and closed his eyes, turning his face away.

"I am a branch family member. We are servants to the main house!" she then undid the silk cloth on her head and revealed a mark that looked like a swastika with hooks at the end and two horizontal lines on each side that had hooks on the ends facing the main part.

"This is a seal that the main house members put on the branch families when we are young to keep our eyes from being used by non-clan members. It destroys our Byakugan when we die.. but it is also used by the main branch when we get out of line. When they use this it fries our minds with pain…"

Naruto looked at her with surprise and sadness.

"You just saved my cousin's wife, thank you. She was always kind to us… BUT DON'T EXPECT ME TO THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE MAIN HOUSE HAPPY!" she snapped.

A short pause later. "For all I care about that… YOU CAN GO TO HELL! YOU…"

"YUKIHIME!" a man's shout came from behind them. It was a very angry Hiashi Hyuuga with his Byakugan activated.

"I came here hearing shouts from this room and find you INSULTING my daughter's and my wife's savior. I think you forgot your place!" he growled at her.

She cowered away from him looking terrified. "Please forgive me Hiashi-sama! I didn't…"

Before she could finish the man raised a half-seal and she fell to pieces in pain screaming like she was on fire.

"STOOOP!" yelled Naruto as he tackled Hiashi to the ground, causing him to release his jutsu. Yukihime fell on her hands and knees panting.

"YUKI-SAN!" the boy ran to her and grabbed her shoulders. He then placed a hand on her forehead and it started glowing white.

Yukihime felt the lingering pain disappear from her head and then looked at Naruto. "Why? After the horrible things I told you, why are you helping me?"

"Jii-san says that you don't need a reason to help somebody in pain and I agree!" he said with a smile. "Besides, I think I came to see you like a nee-san though I'm not sure. I… never had a family or even a home. I've lived… on the streets for a while now, hiding from bad people who want to hurt me, until Jii-san got me a place to stay all to myself. Besides I know what's like to carry a mark that you didn't deserve." Naruto said this with a smile and lifted his shirt showing ALOT of scars and the Kyuubi seal.

Yukihime gasped at the sight. Those scars showed a wide range of injuries but a certain one caught her attention. It was pretty fresh and was the size of an adult's palm on the boy's right side. Naruto noticed this.

"That one I got about three weeks ago when, one night a drunken shinobi hit me on the back of my head. When I woke up I was tied to a post and had alcohol poured over me. The man was laughing hard and then snapped his fingers. Sparks came from them and lit the alcohol … and me with it. He passed out after one more swig of his booze. I was lucky that he didn't use wire and so the ropes burned and I got away only with that injury. It was … one of the worst times. I'm usually only looked at with eyes of hatred or ignored. When that's not enough I get chased, starved, kicked, stabbed or beaten half to death, worse on my birthday, but this guy got creative." he said smiling. It was only a half truth. What he didn't tell her was that he could have gotten worse if Kurama didn't surround him with a chakra cloak but it was too slow and he still got burned.

Yukihime was shocked. She had a look of dread on her face that was worse than the one when Hiashi came barging into the room. This child suffered so much and he still had the will to live. He was barely close to five years of age and he had endured more than most veteran shinobi.

Hiashi was boiling mad. His best friend's legacy, his wife's savior and his daughter's rescuer had to suffer so much and he didn't know. 'Sarutobi is going to get an earful!'. Yuki then realized the truly horrible words she said to him and jumped embracing him.

"I'm sorry Naruto-sama. I said all those cruel things to you! I didn't know! I'm truly sorry!" she cried.

"It's okay! You didn't know! Oh and stop calling me 'sama', it makes me feel weird!" he smiled rubbing her back.

"Okay Naruto-kun."

The boy then got up and walked towards Hiashi who was now standing. The man looked furious. Naruto then stopped 3 feet away from the man and bowed deeply.

"Hiashi-sama! I am deeply sorry for my actions earlier. I accept any punishment for them in exchange for Yuki-san being forgiven." he said with full honesty.

"NO NARUTO-KUN! STOP! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT FOR ME!"

Hiashi then dropped down to the boy's height and hugged the boy. "Of course! Don't worry about that! There will be no consequences!"

Just then the door opened and the man's wife entered and saw the scene. She was surprised but quickly smiled. "Hiashi-san, Hokage-sama is here and wants to talk to you about that Kumo shinobi that tried to take Hinata."

Hiashi's face took on a light frown. "Thank you dear! I will go talk to him. Besides I have a few extra things to talk with him. Naruto-kun would you like to take a bath in the mean time?"

"Oh I will take him and Yukihime, would you like to join us?" she smiled even more.

"My pleasure!" answered Yuki.

Naruto then said. "Umm… I can do it myself miss …"

"Oh that's right I never got to introduce myself. My name is Hyuuga Haruko and I cannot let a child bathe by himself. Our baths are pretty big and you could drown if you don't know where the deep parts are." she said to the boy in a kind matter-of-factly way.

"… pretty…" whispered the blond.

"Sorry, what?" she asked.

"I said… that you have a pretty name!" he blushed.

"Why thank you Naruto-kun, now let's go!" she giggled.

He nodded and followed both women to the bath. Hiashi then went to see the Hokage.

When he got there his brother Hizashi was already engaged in short talk with the man.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Hokage-sama!" said the Hyuuga head.

"No problem Hiashi. I came here to tell you the situation with the Kumo nin Naruto caught." the aged Hokage answered. "Ibiki said that he was a pretty hard nut to crack but he eventually confessed to the kidnapping. He also said that the treaty was a cover-up to get a chance to take Hinata back to Kumo with him and have her breed a lot of Byakugan shinobi."

Hearing this Hiashi shattered the glass of water in his hand but his face remained emotionless.

The Hokage continued "After we sent message to Kumo asking them what is the meaning of this, they responded accusing us of lying about the attempted kidnaping and also you of attacking and injuring their head nin. They first asked for your head…" and at the sound of this Hizashi who was sitting at their side cringed and whispered "Bastards!". Both Hiashi and the Hokage looked at him but then the village leader continued "… but backed down as soon as they received the filmed confession from their ninja as well as the news that it was not you, but a five year old boy was the one that beat one of their best shinobi. I guess they were quite embarrassed." All men in the room smirked.

Sarutobi then asked "Speaking of which where is Naruto and what is he doing?" making Hiashi cringe and answer.

"Hokage-sama, you don't need to worry about the boy. He is here and is now taking a bath with my wife and his attendant. We are looking after him… " the Hokage smiled "… which is not what I can say about your part." the Sandaime dropped the smile.

"What do you mean Hiashi?" the fire shadow asked.

"I mean, Hokage-sama, exactly what you heard. I just found out that he is tortured and that there are attempts at his life on a daily basis from the village. Weren't you supposed to watch over him Hokage-sama?"

"But I do Hiashi!"

"Then tell me Hokage-sama… why was the boy NEARLY BURNT ALIVE TWO WEEKS AGO?"

Hiruzen's face went white. "WHAT?" the Kage screamed.

"He told his attendant Yukihime that, two weeks ago, he was tied to a post by an inebriated shinobi, drenched in alcohol, AND SET ON FIRE! The nin passed out from the booze and Naruto was left to burn. He was lucky that the ropes burned before he could die. And then I saw the unmistakable palm-sized burn scar on his body, next to others that showed cuts, burns, whippings, stabbings, brandings and many others. And these are the visible ones. If he didn't possess what he did, he would have died a long time ago! Now tell me Hokage-sama… HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN!" Hiashi flared.

Hizashi and Sarutobi felt like throwing up. How could that happen to a child?

"Hiashi, I knew about the attempts and had ANBU guarding him 24/7 but I didn't know that things were this bad! I love the boy like my grandson!" the senior shinobi said.

"I have no doubt that you care for the boy Hokage-sama, but it appears that not all ANBU are loyal to you." The head Hyuuga then let out a sigh. "I have decided to take the boy in, to train and look after him. My wife also fully agreed with this."

The Hokage was surprised. "But Hiashi, won't he be looked down upon here. Besides how will you train him? He doesn't have the Byakugan."

"I don't think it will be a problem. The boy defeated a Hyuuga councilor with a perfect 'HAKKE HYAKU NIJUUHACHI SHO!', avoiding any vital points."

Sarutobi nearly passed out. "WHAT? HOW?"

"I don't know. But I can train him if he can see the Tenketsu. That is … if I have your approval Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen got into a thinking pose for a couple of seconds and answered "I need to speak to Naruto first."

Just then the doors opened and Haruko entered.

"Oh my, I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation. I thought you would be finished by now." she said with a gentle voice.

"No problem, I was going to call for Naruto anyway. How was the bath?" Hiashi spoke.

His wife giggled softly. "He was very well behaved. I find it surprising considering that he is a boy. They usually run away from anything to do with baths." she looked at the men and they all blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"The only thing that disturbed me was when he asked if the water is hot all the time." The men raised an eyebrow. "I asked him about the source of his question and he told me that at his apartment, the only time he gets hot water was between 6:00 and 6:05 AM, and that he was always chased away from the onsen (public baths)." Sarutobi's face lost a lot of wrinkles frowning.

"But that wasn't the true shocker. I almost fainted when I saw his body." she said looking to the floor.

"His whole skin was a canvas painted with scars. I then activated my Byakugan and noticed that all his organs had signs of past trauma and nearly every bone was broken and healed multiple times. He is also slightly malnourished as a quarter of his ribs are visible through the skin. At his age they should not be like that but he has absolutely no baby fat. I asked him if he was eating well and he told me that most of the time he eats only ramen since most stores chase him away or they overcharge him for expired food."

The Hokage was now clenching his fists so hard that his fingernails drew blood. Ibiki will be busy for a while.

"That shocked me and so my illness began to accentuate while holding him in the water (with his back facing her). I nearly passed out but he noticed this and used his power to help me. He started panting a little and then his stomach growled. I remembered that he had not eaten in two days, but he was still doing his best to help me even though he barely had enough energy to walk. I sent Yuki to bring him something to eat. When she came back with some sandwiches he refused to eat until I would eat as well saying that, and I quote, 'sick people should eat to get better'. Oh Kami, how can this boy be so kind after all that has happened to him? I was curious and asked him and he told me that he has four people he cares most about and he keeps going for them. I asked him who and he told me that they were me, Yuki, his 'Jijii' (grandfather/old man)…" she glanced at the Hokage who blushed and smiled "… and another person who was a secret. He also told me that it was that person who taught him about manners, chakra and chakra system. It was also that person who always helped him and taught him the true meaning of being Hokage. He told me it is his dream to be, and I quote, 'the Hokage greater than all others before him, even 'Jijii' and Yondaime'. After we finished bathing I told Yuki to prepare Naruto-kun a proper meal."

Everybody in the room smiled and nodded, with Sarutobi once again blushing.

"Oh dear! I'm sorry for rambling on like this but I thought that you should know this! I will take my leave now!" she bowed.

"Wait Haruko! I want to see Naruto when he has finished his meal and I want you to be here if you think you are able to stay." asked Hiashi.

"Of course! Naruto-kun's power gave me a lot of energy!" she giggled.

Just then there was a knock on the door. "Haruko-sama?"

"Come in Yuki!" the woman answered.

Yuki came in and bowed.

"I have come to tell you that Naruto-kun finished his meal per your instruction!"

"Oh dear, that was quick. Did those sandwiches spoil his appetite." Haruko was concerned.

"No, that was not the case. He finished everything on the table with seconds." Yuki and Haruko sweat dropped anime-style.

"But there was enough food on the table for seven people. He asked for seconds and finished them in ten minutes?" and now the men sweat dropped.

"Hai! I guess the speed was an subconscious fear that the food will be taken from him, as for the quantity … I looked at him with my Byakugan and saw that it was absorbed by his system at an astonishing rate, slowing down as he finished the meal. What I can tell from this is that he has a variable metabolism that he can control subconsciously, but it doesn't surprise me anymore." Both women giggled and the men nodded and smiled.

"Yuki, my husband and Hokage-sama wish to speak to him." Haruko told the woman.

"Hai!"and she left.

Two minutes later she returned with Naruto who was dressed in a white kimono with black pants.

He looked in the room and saw the Hokage. He got excited and ran towards the man. "JIJII!"

"Hey there Naruto!" the old Kage embraced the boy he saw as a grandson.

Hiashi then coughed and said "Naruto-kun, there is something important I wish to ask you but first would you tell Hokage-sama and me what you told Haruko and Yuki before and in the bath, with details."

The boy nodded and started telling the whole story with even more details whilst staying in Haruko's lap with their hands touching, occasionally flaring his Ranpu chakra to keep her healthy. And that was a good idea because the story was much more gruesome then they originally thought.

Naruto told them that ever since he could remember he was looked at with eyes that saw him as something less than human, that the first memory he had was a punch from his orphanage caretaker, that every two or less weeks he is chased and half the times he gets away, but when he gets caught he is starved, humiliated ,robbed, punched, kicked, mugged, slashed, stabbed, burnt, crushed, used as target practice for jutsu (though rare since it alerts shinobi of chakra usage), and many other horrible actions that are too painful to remember, until the ANBU come but sometimes are late or they never appear.

The women were tearing up and embracing him tight. The men were boiling with killer intent. Oh Ibiki will be busy indeed.

"Naruto why didn't you tell me about any of this?" the old man was furious.

"I didn't think it was a big deal!" said the boy a little frightened by his Jijii's reaction.

"IT WAS A BIG DEAL NARUTO! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED EACH TIME!" yelled Sarutobi making the boy shiver and back up into Haruko who noticed this.

"Hokage-sama, please calm down! You are scaring the poor boy." she said with motherly love tightening her hands around the blond reassuring him that he was safe.

The old man then looked at Naruto who was still shivering a little bit.

"I'm sorry Naruto! It's just that I care for you and I don't want you to suffer like that, and neither did the Yondaime Hokage!" the man said rubbing his forehead.

"It's okay, I know! I just thought that I did something to make them mad at me and didn't want to upset you too!" said the boy. Sarutobi felt his heart split in two.

"From now on don't keep things from me like that, okay?" he said smiling at Naruto.

"Yup!" the blond showed his foxy grin.

"Other than that, what can you tell me about these abilities of yours, like what they do… and who taught you how to manipulate chakra?" the man gently smiled at the boy.

"Kurama-nii-san did! … oops!" he said looking away.

"What's the matter Naruto? Who is Kurama?" the man nervously asked.

"Umm… I'm not supposed to tell anybody." the kid fidgeted

"Why is that?"

"Well, every time somebody mentions about it they get shushed immediately, saying something about a law." Naruto said matter-of-factly.

The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees and all the people in the room began looking like ghosts.

"Naruto…" the Hokage broke the silence "… is Kurama … the Kyuubi no Yoko?" the Hokage wearily asked.

"I told you I'm not supposed to talk about it! I don't want to break the law!" the boy said lowering his chin into his chest but keeping his eyes on the old man.

The old man sweat dropped "I know about the law Naruto, and you and I and anybody else who you tell are allowed, so come on, is it the Kyuubi?" The old man hoped not but Naruto nodded much to his displeasure.

"NARUTO! THAT DEMON IS EVIL AND DANGEROUS! YOU SHOULD NO BETTER THAN TO TALK WITH IT! HE COULD…" Hiruzen shouted but was interrupted by the blond.

"STOP IT! DON'T BE MEAN TO KURAMA-NII-SAN! HE IS NOT BAD! HE HELPS ME ALL THE TIME WHILE YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT ME BEING BEATEN! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM!" Naruto snapped at the man making him jump in surprise and a little shame that the boy was right about him not knowing about torture.

"But Naruto, if he isn't evil, why did he attack the village last time?" the Hokage asked more rhetorically than curious.

"About that he said he was really sorry because he couldn't stop himself! He said he was under a 'ge..jutsu' or something like that…" "Genjutsu" corrected Haruko "Yes genjutsu! He was under a genjutsu and when he woke up he was already being sealed. All he remembered was a creep in a mask with an eye that was red with a strange pattern. He called it Eternal 'Mangengou' or Mangekyou 'Shavingan'…" "Sharingan dear" Haruko corrected again with a little amusement at the mistake but she was still a little unnerved by the boy's words "Yes Sharingan! Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and after that he blacked out. He told me he was sealed in somebody else before but couldn't remember who. Anyway he was still sealed inside that person when the creep with the mask appeared before him and then poof he was inside me. " Naruto answered the man.

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt like he lost a couple of his few remaining years. If this was true it meant that not only an Uchiha would be responsible for the destruction from five years ago but also that the fox was genuinely helping Naruto.

"Naruto are you sure that he is not lying to you?" the Hokage said in a softer tone.

The boy nodded violently. "He is not lying! I know how eyes of a person that lies look like!"

"Excuse my rudeness but I can vouch for that! He also saw through my lies!" Yuki spoke, a little embarrassed.

"How can you tell kid?" Hizashi aked.

"Well mister …" "Hizashi Hyuuga" the blond was interrupted "Well Hizashi-san, I always notice how most people look at me with anger and I try to stay away from them so they won't beat me! I guess I just got used to looking at everybody's eyes and try to figure out how they see me! From there I must have figured out how to tell lies. I can also see the pain when people are hurting." the blond answered.

"How so?" the man asked.

"Well… they look like mine." This made everybody flinch.

"So don't be mean to nii-san. He's a good guy! It's just that he's lonely and misunderstood…" and Naruto proceeded to tell them the story about the birth of the Bijuu and the Sage of Six Path, about how greed and ambitions changed the Beasts for the worse and how Kurama fell into despair and succumbed to anger.

The people in the room were deep in thought. The story seemed plausible. That would mean that the Sage of Six Paths was real and that the Beasts were his legacy.

Naruto then froze in place with his eyes closed making Haruko worry as nobody else noticed this. After a while the boy opened his eyes

"Jijii, Kurama-nii-san says if you take my hand and meditate then you can meet him yourself. Oh and he told me that don't worry about the danger, you will only be a mental 'protection' or something…" "Projection" Haruko was giggling that she was on a roll. Naruto continued " … and that he is behind the seal." the blond reassured the man.

Hiruzen hesitated a little bit but then grabbed the boy's hand. He then closed his eyes and then started relaxing. He felt drawn into the boy and then found himself in a place that was slightly damp and dark. I looked like a small corridor with the floor wet by an inch of water and had pipes of red and blue that were connected by white cubes. He then heard Naruto calling for him.

"Jijii over here!" the voice came from one of the ends of the corridor that was illuminated and showed the boy's figure in shadowy outline.

The man walked in that direction until he clearly saw a smiling Naruto. The aged man relaxed a bit.

"Nice place you got here Naruto!" he said with a bit of sarcasm and sadness.

"You should have seen it a month ago. It was a sewer!" the boy responded.

He then grabbed the Kage's hand and told him to follow. They walked towards the light and then entered a large illuminated room that had the same wet floor but you could not see the ends of it exept for two large golden barred doors with that had a paper with the kanji for 'seal' in the middle where the lock was. You could not see initially inside because of the shadows but as you got close you could have sworn that on the other side was another dimension as it had a grassy ground instead of the water that the blond and the Hokage were walking on.

"Nii-san were here!" said a happy Naruto.

"**I see you brought guests kit. Two of them!**" the Bijuu smiled.

Naruto and Hiruzen looked back and saw Haruko standing there looking confused.

"Oh my, why am I here?" she asked looking around a little dazed.

"Haruko, did you by any chance closed your eyes and relaxed when I was with Naruto in here?" asked Sarutobi raising an eyebrow.

"I guess I did. I can't help that Naruto-kun's power is so relaxing and when you touched his hand he channeled even more." she said smiling and looking a little red in embarrassment.

"**It matters not. If you are willing to chat I will allow you to stay. From what I understood from the kit you are a good person, one of his favorites.**" said Kurama with a smile causing Naruto to blush and Haruko to smile even wider.

"He is a very good and kind boy." she pulled the blond closer.

"Ahem!" the Hokage fake-coughed. "Excuse my rudeness but I believe that we have more important matters to discuss!" Everybody else nodded.

"Now then Kyuubi…-san, I heard some very upsetting things from Naruto but I wanted to confirm them for myself. If you don't mind, would you tell me what you told the boy, the short version, about the Sage of Six Paths and the night you escaped." he said with a serious face.

Kurama nodded and began to tell him everything he told Naruto about his 'birth', a little bit about him growing up but nothing important and of course, about the event of Konoha's destruction on the day the boy was born with a little bit more detail as follows.

"**Naruto do you know when a female host's seal is the weakest?**" asked the fox.

The boy just shook his head from side to side.

"**It is when she is pregnant with its weakest being when she gives birth!**" he answered.

"What does 'pregnant' mean?" asked the boy earning a sweat-drop from everybody else except Haruko.

"It means when a woman has a baby in her belly." answered the woman while smiling.

"Ah! I remember now…" answers the boy whispering the last sentence.

"Now don't you ask how babies are put there!" said an embarrassed Hokage.

"Don't need. I already know. Not interested into that stuff, at least not yet from what I found out." the boy said with a straight face.

"Oh, and how did you find out?" asked Haruko in a gentle motherly tone but with a hint of extra curiosity.

"The same place I learned what pregnant means. Jijii should learn to hide his smut better." the blond let out a sigh and earned the Kage an ice-cold glare from Haruko. The old man gulped but was saved by the fox.

"**As I was saying, my last host had just given birth and the seal was weak. I wanted to get out and run away. I had no intention of destroying anything!**" the Bijuu answered with sadness.

"**But then that masked bastard projected himself inside my host, made me go mad and broke the seal! I don't remember anything from then on until I was inside Naruto.**" now Kurama presented a little bit of rage.

Hiruzen was scanning the fox's expression for lies but did not find any trace of it. He had experience with this as he had to be on his toes as Kage of Konoha. It was either the case that the fox was telling the truth or he was a master liar but the man decided to go with the first considering that Naruto also trusted him.

"So that's all you remember from the time you escaped Kushina-chan's seal, Kyuubi-san?" the man asked wearily.

"**Yes, and call me Kurama. If I ever find th…**" the fox responded but was cut short by the blond.

"Nii-san's previous host was someone named Kushina?" asked a curious Naruto.

Sarutobi and Kurama froze. The tongue slip put the old man into a difficult situation.

"I remember that girl!" answered Haruko. "She was such a hothead. I guess that's why she had red hair!" she giggled.

"What do you mean Haruko-san?" the blond asked.

The woman continued "Well she was tomboyish, had red hair and a really nasty temper. I remember that when she first transferred into our class she was first called 'tomato' because her hair and because she was a little chubby and was laughed at." the other humans in the room looked a little gloomy. Naruto knew it was wrong to laugh at others and Sarutobi remembered her. " But then it got worse until one day half of the class cornered and started making fun of her… and she beat the hell out of them" Haruko said with a smile causing the rest to shiver, even Kurama. "From then on she was called '_Akai Chishio no Habanero'_ (Red Hot-blooded Chilly pepper). I think that her name was Kushina … Uzumaki"

"**Yes! That was her! I remember now that all my Konoha hosts were Uzumaki! I remember she was expecting you kit.**" he said smiling.

Down below things were looking bad for Sarutobi.

"Naruto I…I.. " Sarutobi was sweating like a waterfall.

"You knew!" was all the boy could say. His face was covered by shadows except for his mouth.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think that … I did it to protect you…!" Hiruzen was looking for a good way to tell the boy.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

"I did it to protect you Naruto, your mother had powerful enemies and you would be in danger. We couldn't let them know that she had a son, you would have been in danger." the Hokage was desperately trying to calm the boy.

He watched as tears fell down the boy's cheeks. Kurama could feel his emotions but decided to stay silent.

"And the fact that I am the only UZUMAKI IN THE VILLAGE is very discreet!" he said making the Kage grab his head as he realized the mistake.

"Who was my dad?" Naruto asked in a muffled tone.

"I don't know!" the man put on his best poker-face as he answered.

"WHO WAS MY FATHER?" the boy asked louder but not screaming.

"Naruto I really don't know!" the village leader started sweating.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Naruto looked up with teary eyes and blazing white pupils. "WHY ARE YOU LYING? WHY AREN'T YOU TELLING ME? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I WENT TO SLEEP WHILE CRYING? HOW EACH NIGHT I THINK THAT MY PARENTS HATED ME? THAT THEY GAVE ME TO THE YONDAIME TO SEAL THE KYUUBI IN ME AND THEN LEFT ME TO DIE? DO YOU KNOW HOW BAD IT HURT TO SEE EVERY OTHER KID HAS A PARENT… OR EVEN SOMEONE THAT CARES FOR THEM WHEN YOU ARE FORCED TO DINE IN A DUMPSTER? DO YOU?" the boy broke.

Hiruzen was close to breaking down. He couldn't believe what went on inside the boy.

"I ASKED YOU COUNTLESS TIMES ABOUT MY PARENTS BUT YOU 'DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING'! I DIDN'T KNOW IF THEY ARE DEAD OR IF THEY LEFT ME TO DIE! NOW TELL ME… TELL ME WHY DO YOU STILL HIDE THEM FROM ME?"

The old Kage's knees gave way as the echoes of the boy's words hit him time and time again. He fell on his bottom, with him still looking at the boy who wasn't angry at all but was deeply sad.

"I tried to protect you Naruto, from both the council and foreign affairs. Both your parent had powerful enemies that would have stopped at nothing to kill you if they found out that you were their son. Please Naruto understand that I did the best that I could to help you." bowed the man.

"I will ask you one more time, . ?" the blond could crush rocks with that stare.

Sarutobi closed his eyes and said "Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage!"

The boy's eyes went wide for a moment and shut closed after sobbing silently

"I know that I caused you so much pain and I know that I failed you… forgive me!" the Hokage bowed deeply.

"I forgave you a long time ago! I resolved that if you knew and didn't tell me you had a good reason not to." answered Naruto causing the Kage to look back to him. "But know this! You told me once that trust is gained hard and lost easily and that to gain trust you have to give even more back…" The boy closed his eyes. "You didn't trust me to know who my parents were, you didn't trust me to keep their identity secret. If you told me to keep this a secret, THEY COULD HAVE ROASTED ME SLOWLY AND I WOULDN'T HAVE TALKED SO AS TO NOT DISSAPOINT YOU." screamed the boy making the Kage start crying. "Today you have gained my forgiveness for this, but you also lost my trust, and it will take a lot to get it back… Hokage-sama!" said Naruto turning his back to the old man while he was stretching his arm out as if he wanted to grab the boy. Those last words fell on the man's heart like a ton of bricks. He was no longer 'Jijii', no longer Naruto's grandfather.

"I… understand Naruto. I let you down and I deserve that, but please do not hate your parents! They loved you more than anything and they wanted to see you grow up but they died, impaled by Kurama-san's claw." Kurama looked down and away.

Naruto turned back with a smile. "Hate them? Why would I want to hate them?" Everybody else blinked twice in confusion (anime-style) "They died protecting me and the village and gave me a friend and brother! They were great people that I can look up to. Just wait Hokage-sama, I will surpass you and dad and then I will come for your seat, I promise you that!" he said raising a fist in a kind of straight punch motion. Kurama mentally renewed his vow to protect and help Naruto, the Kage said that he will be waiting, and Haruko gave him a motherly kiss on his cheek that made him blush.

"Also Hokage-sama… I want my dad's jutsus!" Naruto said in a serious way.

Hiruzen got into a thinking pose. "Now that is a problem. I can give you the scroll for the jutsu but it might be stolen from you or fall into the wrong hands. I know you are strong but you are not strong enough to protect it!" said the man with Naruto first pouting a little but agreed to the man's logic. The boy heard stories about how powerful the Hiraishin and Rasengan were and knew most people would die to get them. It didn't help that he was the "Demon Brat" and that was a world of trouble alone.

"But I'll do better! I will have my guards teach you the Hiraishin and some other exercises secretly! They were your father's guards and they know it but you will have to adapt it to yourself. Also you are not allowed to use it until you are genin! Promise me that!" said Sarutobi and the boy promised.

"As for the Rasengan I don't know anybody who can do except Jiraya, your father's sensei and he is out of the country for the next five years. I will see if he wants to teach you when he gets back."

"Deal!" the boy said.

"**You should get back. An hour has passed already and the people outside might get worried. Be careful youngster, you lost the kit's trust, see that you do not lose his faith into you and Konoha!**" said Kurama and the Kage nodded with full resolve.

"Everybody before we leave I must tell you that what we talked about tonight about the Uchiha and Naruto's parents is a highest S-class secret. Naruto you are allowed to tell anyone you like about your parents but please try to keep it secret from all but your most trusted people or you will be in danger. I know it is tempting, especially when you are teased by others, but think of this as shinobi training. Shinobi are entrusted with secret information all the time and must not reveal it except to certain individuals. Also Haruko you may reveal what happened here to Hiashi but do so in a secure zone and tell him that revealing this is penalized by death, understood?". Both Naruto and Haruko nodded and then turned to Kurama to say goodbye.

"Also, Nii-san, why do you call Hokage-sama 'youngster'? he questioned and both Hiruzen and Haruko looked at the fox.

"**Kit, he may be old by your standard but I have lived for CENTURIES. To me he is little more than a toddler.**" Sarutobi sweat-dropped and smiled and Haruko giggled.

"Then I guess I should call you Kurama-JII-san, he-he!" smirked Naruto.

"Why you little … newborn baby!" Kurama answered smiling.

'Very original' everybody else thought sweat-dropping.

"Bye Nii-chan!" smiled Naruto.

"**We will meet again kit.**"


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is dedicated to Ryuujin96, my first ever reviewer.

I would like to thank him for his kind words and tell him that I share most of his views. I agree that I overpowered Naruto because I took his abilities from a canceled fanfic project about time travel. But I want to tell everyone that shares his concern a couple of things.

1) Naruto's Juken will be a last resort since he will not have superb chakra control (only for short bursts). He will be a kenjustu (sword art) user.

2) He seems incredibly strong at first but I plan to balance the story. Most of his techniques use an insane amount of chakra and, even though he has a 'little help' he is still a child with relatively poor control and low-Jounin level chakra but not like the original where his chakra has to fight Kurama's and causes even worse control.

3) Naruto is buddies with Kurama and can use his chakra but it taxes his body so it's kind of like an ace in the sleeve for last resorts. Also he will not get the key to the seal until the time skip (sorry for spoiler) and such he will not get the full power just yet. Also they share a brotherly relationship and big brothers like to tease a lot (I know from experience) so you will see a lot of sibling 'fighting' going on.

4) Naruto has supercharged Byakugan-like abilities but with a sprinkle of Sharingan (he can see the movement of chakra and color but does not have the photographic memory ability and genjutsu powers), but they cost an insane amount of chakra to use at full power. One minute at full output can put him in a coma.

Also about some other things.

A Kekkei Genkai is a stable mutation (with emphasis on the word stable) that is passed on to descendants, like how the Sharingan came from the Rinnengan, it took several generations to evolve into its stable form. The Ranpu element may or may not become a Kekkei Genkai or it will evolve into something else (example imagine Naruto's (Ranpu) and Hinata's (Byakugan) kids – they may have the Ranpu, Byakugan, a mix or none at all depending on the stronger genes.)

Also Kakashi knows the Rasengan but (I think) nobody else knew that he knows (*mind fuck*), not even the Hokage. Also he was shown using it after the 3 year time skip so he may have learned it then.

And, since Hiashi never lost his wife and brother he is still strict but kinder and more open with his feelings.

Also here is something I forgot to say about Ranpu element but I think most people figured it out that it has some good painkilling effects.

About the Harem idea if I choose to follow through with it. I see the Naruto world as a medieval feudal society (hence the Daimio) combined with the modern world (some low performance computers, electricity, cup ramen) and such I think that powerful men can legally have one wife and as many concubines as he wants. ( I think that the CRA 'clan restoration act' idea has been overused)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto related stuff and characters!

Last time on Naruto of the Shinsougan:

"Everybody before we leave I must tell you that what we talked about tonight about the Uchiha and Naruto's parents is a highest S-class secret. Naruto you are allowed to tell anyone you like about your parents but please try to keep it secret from all but your most trusted people or you will be in danger. I know it is tempting, especially when you are teased by others, but think of this as shinobi training. Shinobi are entrusted with secret information all the time and must not reveal it except to certain individuals. Also Haruko you may reveal what happened here to Hiashi but do so in a secure zone and tell him that revealing this is penalized by death, understood?". Both Naruto and Haruko nodded and then turned to Kurama to say goodbye.

[…]

"**We will meet again kit.**"

Current story:

"HOKAGE-SAMA! PLEASE SNAP OUT OF IT!" yelled an ox-masked ANBU.

The old man returned from Naruto's mindscape looking a little worse for wear but recovered fast enough to answer to the call.

"What is it Ox?" asked the Kage as if he'd just woken up from a nightmare.

"Thank Kami you are alright sir! I came to inform you that the council has called for a meeting to discuss the Kumo situation. It has already started!" said the ANBU kneeling on one foot and with a fist touching the ground.

Naruto was just coming to and was listening to the conversation with interest, forgetting to shut down the chakra to his eyes.

"I see. I must get to them immediately but I also have something critical to discuss here! What to do… I KNOW!" said Hiruzen smiling in surprise of his idea.

The aged Kage got up and put his index and middle fingers from both hands in a cross shape and yelled 'KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU' (Shadow Clone Tehnique). Instantly another Hiruzen appeared near him.

"Hiashi I am sorry to leave on such short notice. I gave Haruko permission to give you all the information that I have acquired here but note that it is an S-class secret punishable by death. I will leave my clone here to talk to instruct Naruto on some small things like…" "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU" "…like Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and various …" Sarutobi stopped his matter-of-factly style speech and froze in place looking at Hiashi who had his eyes as wide as a saucers and was sweating lightly.

"Hiashi please tell me it is not like what I think is!" begged the frozen Kage (A\N …on a stick)

"I… I'm afraid I cannot lie Hokage-sama!" said the man dropping his head and closing his eyes.

Hiruzen let out a sigh and turned around to see ten identical Narutos smiling at him.

"Hey Hokage –sama this is so cool!" all boys said at once.

Hiashi noticed the change in the way the boy addressed the man and, while he was happy that the blond was giving the proper respect to the village leader, he couldn't help think something was wrong but kept his curiosity to himself.

"Naruto how did you…" the Kage was stopped by the ANBU.

"Hokage-sama, the meeting, we must go now!" said Ox who was just as curious but kept his cool.

The Hokage let out another sigh and left with the agent after saying goodbye but leaving his own clone behind.

"Naruto, when and how did you learn that jutsu?" the clone-Kage asked.

"Just now and since I forgot my Shinsougan no Jutsu active and saw you do it. Normally I would have to practice to get this right like with the 'Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms' and 'Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms' but this jutsu was pretty easy _(A\N remember that in the original Naruto learned this jutsu from a scroll with nobody to show him how, tired after running from shinobi and in a couple of hours and now he saw how chakra moved, he has a little better control and saw an example in front of him)_.

"Naruto are you alright?" asked the worried old man.

"Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" the boy cocked his head to the side in a cute manor.

"Because this jutsu is a B-class Kinjutsu that can kill you if you make too many clones. Even I become tired if I make that many clones. It takes a lot of chakra out of you." the Kage answered.

"Oh then it's no problem! I saw with the Shinsougan that I have more chakra than most ninja with those green vests. I think that they were called 'shuu-nin'. Also nii-chan fills my chakra when I use mine so I don't get really tired unless I use it too fast or in one go." he said with a smile.

The old man lost a lot of wind sigh-ing today. "They are called Chuunin, Naruto. And if that is the case I will teach you how to use the jutsu properly but promise me don't go overboard with these techniques at least until you get your hitai-ate." the man asked Naruto, giving up trying to argue with the boy.

The blond happily nodded.

"I'm serious Naruto! If you feel even slightly winded wait for Kurama-san to fill you up again until you use it unless it's an life or death situation! Promise me!" the man said grabbing the boy's shoulders.

"I promise on my nindo!" he said with a very serious expression and dispelled the clones.

That was as good as a lethal blood-seal placed on the kid. He NEVER went back on his word when he promised, even more so when he did it on his nindo.

"Ahem, forgive my disrespect Hokage-sama but I wish to ask the boy how he learned my family's advanced taijutsu moves." asked Hiashi.

"No problem Hiashi. I'm also curious." then they turned to Naruto who was still holding Haruko's hand but was now standing up as her legs fell asleep with the boy sitting in her lap so he wanted to let her recover.

Naruto told them about the event five months after his birthday when, while practicing Soujin Seishin and Shinsougan he spotted Hinata about to be attacked by a bear. He was about to jump in to help her when he saw Haruko floor the beast with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

"My jutsus were still on and I was able to see how she did it. It was like a beautiful and deadly dance. I tried to do it myself and got it down in four days." the boy flashed his foxy smile. "After I got the basic movement I just upgraded and finished just as that bad man was taking the girl." he said with a cute expression between pout and anger.

Hiruzen was wiping the floor with his jaw. Hiashi was about to slap himself to wake up. Did this child just learn one of their most advanced moves in four days without instruction or background AND RECREATED its more powerful variation in two other days. How much talent did this child have? He was even more convinced now to take in the boy for more reasons. One being that he could be a great addition to the clan's friend list and the other being that he didn't want the boy to teach more ruthless people the Juken's fighting moves and weaknesses.

Haruko on the other hand was blushing a little, after all Naruto just complimented her movements that day and was also a little honored to have been the boy's first 'sensei' (teacher), even if unofficially. She giggled "Oh my, Naruto-kun, I'm not that good!"

"Yes you are! You moved like a flower in the wind. If I wasn't using Soujin Seishin I wouldn't have seen any movements. I was lucky!" he chirped.

Haruko blushed even further and hugged the boy "Well remember that one Naruto-kun. That's how mothers get when defending their babies." she said but realized the mistake feeling the boy's chakra getting restless through her hand.

"That's how I would like to be for you!" she said smiling at the boy who instantly jumped up in surprise.

"What do you mean?" the boy was still a little upset but was more than curious to hear her out.

"Well ask Hokage-sama, after he finishes explaining the Shadow Clone. I'm sure Hiashi told him what I mean." she put a finger on her lips (in a I'm-not-telling pose) and the other hand on the blond's cheek.

Naruto turned to Hiruzen pouting a little but with stars in his eyes.

"Ahem, as I was saying Naruto. The Kage Bunshin is an advanced kinjutsu that is used mainly for espionage…" The professor started his lecture but Naruto raised his hand school-style.

"It means spying dear." answered a smiling Haruko and the boy dropped his hand.

The Hokage then continued "It is used for… spying because it creates an identical, that means exactly like the original, clone of the user. After it is dispelled it transfers, that means it sends, the information it learns back to the user". He tried to explain it so that a child could understand… but failed. Naruto was looking like a student the night before the exam with a 'dafuq-is-this-shit' expression. The Kage rubbed his temples.

"Let me explain Hokage-sama." chirped Haruko. "Naruto-kun, do you know what movies are?" The boy nodded "Well, imagine that the clone makes a movie of what he goes through and when you dispel it, that means stop using it and send it away, at that moment it gives you the movie of what he did, or learned, back to you so you can play it in your mind." she explained in a motherly manor.

"Oh so that means I get it's memories when I disp.. send it away, right?" the boy said with wide eyes of understanding looking at the Hokage.

The men sweat-dropped and Hiruzen asked "Haruko how did you do it?" he said disappointed in himself that even though he was 'the professor' he had a very hard time getting through to the child.

She giggled and answered "You forget that I have a girl the same age and a nursing baby!"

The old man dropped his head between his shoulders. Being the Hokage he had left his wife to raise their kids so he was lacking in this department but recovered quickly and turned to Naruto.

"So do you understand the Shadow Clone now Naruto?"

The boy nodded.

"Good. Now before we get to the main topic, I want to ask you about your abilities." he looked at the blond with interest.

Naruto told the man what Kurama told him about his Ranpu chakra and its offspring jutsu, the Shinsougan and the Soujin Seishin as well as the chakra's restorative powers.

"Hmm… it is a wondrous power indeed." said Hiruzen with Hiashi and Hizashi nodding in agreement. "It gives me an idea. Naruto how would you like to learn medical jutsus?"

The word jutsu immediately catches the boy's interest.

"When you will be seven I will have someone instruct you…" the boy pouted at the fact that he had to wait "… since you will be busy using the Hiraishin as well as a surprise if you accept it."

The boy tilted his head to the side and a question mark almost appeared on top of his head causing Haruko and the Hokage to giggle.

"Well we came down to the main topic. Naruto do you want to … live here?" said the smiling old man with a little suspense.

Naruto had a clueless expression and a crow flew in the background even though it was nighttime by now. He then looked at Haruko who nodded and then at Hiashi who did the same.

"I know that this may seem like a dream but …" Hiruzen didn't get to finish because he saw Naruto in Haruko's arms sharing a deep embrace.

"I'll take that as a yes!" said the Hokage. "All right I will make the necessary arrangements. I wish you all a good night and Naruto, be on your best behavior." and 'poofed' out of existence.

Naruto got out of the embrace and walked towards Hiashi and his brother. He stopped two feet from their table and bowed deeply to the man.

"Thank you Hiashi-sama!" he said.

The men smiled lightly but immediately went to their emotionless expressions. "It was no problem Naruto! I am sorry that my clan's laws and regulations forbid me from adopting you but I can offer you a permanent 'guest' position, but that is for the better I think since it will prevent some of the… non-cooperative members of the clan to use the clan seal on you." said Hiashi making his brother cringe a little bit. "But please think of me as your father. I will also teach you the clan's Juken techniques!" he said surprising Hizashi.

"But Hiashi-sama, aren't those techniques …secret?" Naruto asked.

"Well there are some regulations concerning main family forms and branch family forms but those do not concern you. Since the Juken is only useful with the Byakugan, I guess nobody made rules concerning non-clan members." answered the man, with both Hyuuga males smirking at the last part.

"Well I guess you can…" Hiashi was interrupted when by the door guard.

"Hiashi-sama, Hinata-sama wishes to enter." the guard announced.

"Send her in!" the man responded.

A little girl with dark blue short hair and the same milky white eyes as the rest of the family entered.

"Tou-sama I understood that Kaa-san was here and…" she wanted to continue but then saw the blond boy with whisker marks on his face looking a little dazed at her but soon he smiled. This caused a little blush in her as she started to fidget. (A\N: Hinata is a sheltered princess and has little interaction with boys outside her family)

"Yes sweetheart?" her mother asked but was clearly enjoying her daughter's response to the boy's presence.

"Umm… Hanabi-chan has been crying for some time now and the caretaker doesn't know what to do!" she said still looking at Naruto with the corner of her eye.

Meanwhile the boy bowed to Hiashi after he told the blond that Juken lessons start tomorrow and he will be training together with the little girl behind him. He approached her and waited for her to finish talking.

"Hello I'm Naruto … Uzumaki and looks like we will be training together!" he said wanting to assume his father's family name but decided it was not the time, stretching his arm out to the girl.

She jumped back a little and hid behind her mother who giggled.

"He-hell-o, I-I'm Hi-Hinata Hyuu-ga!" she stuttered still clutching to her mother's kimono behind the woman showing only half a face.

"Now Hinata-chan, those are very bad manners! Come out from there and greet the boy properly!" she said in a soft scolding tone.

"B-but…" Hinata tried to refuse but was forced by her mother's gentile hand and pushed towards the boy.

Naruto stretched out his hand but she looked away frightened. This made the blond a little sad and he started to look away himself. He pulled back his hand and held it in his other hand.

"I see… I guess you don't want to touch me either." he said softly and with sadness in his eyes. This surprised the girl and made her feel like she did something wrong.

"Hinata-chan, Naruto-kun will not bite you. He is the one who got hurt saving you from the bad ninja that night." Haruko scolded (kindly and motherly) Hinata.

The little Hyuuga's eyes went very big in surprise but then she took on a sad face as she understood what she did. She then lifted her shaking arm to the boy and said "Th-thank you!"

Naruto immediately flashed his foxy smile and gently reached out and grabbed the girl's hand. "It was no problem!"

Hinata blushed like crazy until he let go. Haruko giggled and got up from her sitting position. "Well I better go check on Hanabi-chan. Naruto do you want to meet Hinata-chan's baby sister?" she said.

The boy nodded and together with Hinata and her mother left the room after bowing to Hiashi and Hizashi, who nodded.

"Nii-sama, are you sure it's wise what you are doing? You will have trouble with the elder council!" Hizashi asked his brother.

"Hizashi, I understand there will be difficult times ahead but most of the council has seen what Naruto can do and I think that the explanation I gave Hokage-sama will suffice. If not I will remind them who is head of this clan whether they like it or not. That boy is very special and I owe it to Minato to see to this boy's wellbeing and I think that having him as a friend of the clan will prove fruitful in the long run.. Also I expect you to support him however you can seeing that he saved your life as well." Hiashi smirked at his brother while Hizashi raised an eyebrow.

The Hyuuga head then handed him a report scroll that Hiruzen subtly gave him that read.

'_Report no 2765/ H.87_

_Subject: Kumo relations_

_After we secured a confession from the Head Ninja from Kumogakure that was caught by Naruto Uzumaki trying to kidnap Hyuuga Hinata, we, the Konohagakure council, demanded explanations from Kumo's relations department. The result surprised us._

_They denied the attempt. More than that they demanded retribution for breaking the Head Nin's diplomatic immunity rights._

_The details are as follows: They demanded Hyuuga Hiashi be handed over dead or alive under threat of war._

_The situation was resolved when a videotape of the accused shinobi's confession, performed under no physical torture, was sent detailing not only that he was ordered to enact the kidnaping but also how Naruto Uzumaki, a five year old child, defeated him without taking his life._

_End of report_

_Signed Morino Ibiki, Head of ANBU T&I Division_

Hizashi read the letter with dread. If Naruto hadn't caught the Kumo nin, then Hiashi would have to surrender to the demands of the Cloud. But why did his brother claim that he was the one in danger. This caused him to raise an eyebrow at his 'elder' brother.

Hiashi let out a sigh. "Hizashi you know that if the worst happened I would have surrendered to their demands…" said the man with his branch-member brother opening his mouth to say something but was stopped. "…but the council would have done anything and everything to stop that from happening… and knowing they would have most certainly killed you and let you take my place, and… I know you are brave and foolish enough to accept that fate." he said looking to Hizashi who was staring at the floor. Hiashi then smiled.

"Naruto-kun has done more than I could ever repay him. He has rescued my daughter from a fate worse than death, he gave my wife a chance at a normal life and he saved my dear brother's life. I know that traditions forced us apart and I cannot see you on equal footing and you cannot as well but I still care for our bond. And Naruto-kun ensured that we will still be able to keep that bond between us. If that boy wanted my life I would gladly give it for him…" Hizashi wanted to protest but couldn't seeing the bare truth in his brother's words "… but all that boy wants is a family and to be Hokage. I believe that he can achieve it and I will help him do so, and if that means I have to fight the council for that then, those old farts be damned, I WILL!" he said making his brother chuckle.

Meanwhile in another section of the compound, Haruko opened a slider door followed by the two five year-olds. Inside was a Hyuuga branch member gently bouncing a little baby girl trying to get her to stop crying.

"Let me have her Keiko." the Hyuuga matron told the woman.

"I don't know what happened, Haruko-sama! One minute she was happily asleep and then she started crying. I tried feeding her, changing her diaper, rocking her, even singing to her but nothing worked." Keiko tried to explain.

"It's alright Keiko! Remember that sometimes babies cry for their parents!" Haruko tried to calm the woman. She picked-up Hanabi from Keiko's hands and starting 'shushing' her, bouncing her up and down and telling her that mommy is here.

This caused the baby to open her eyes a little and look at her mother. That was all that Naruto needed to see something was wrong!

"Haruko-san I think that she is in pain!" he said making the woman jolt in surprise and worry. "I thought of something!" he said and approached the mother who was holding her breath. Since the room was heated, Hanabi was only dressed in her diaper. Naruto then charged Ranpu chakra in his index and middle fingers making the tips glow a little. He then moved his fingers to her head and she kept crying. Continuing down her throat, he went for both arms and got to the chest area and Hanabi still didn't stop. He then went below the bellybutton and that's when she quieted down but was still sobbing. When Naruto moved his fingers she took a second but started crying again. He then placed his fingers back and she stopped crying again. That's when it hit him. "Her belly is hurting!" he said grabbing Haruko's arms and flashed his chakra to keep her 'in working condition'.

"Oh Kami!" exclaimed all females except Hanabi.

Haruko quickly grabbed the baby's blanket and wrapped her in them while Keiko went to get some other things like her formula and stuff like that. They all dashed out the door and headed for Hiashi's office.

Once there Haruko barged into the room ignoring the guard at the door, as he wouldn't have acted anyway.

"Something is wrong with Hanabi!" she shouted (but not a whole scream)

Hiashi was in his office with Hizashi finishing up the training program for Naruto and Hinata when his senses picked up on the fact that somebody was running towards his office. He and his brother braced themselves for anything since running in the compound was unusual at night. The doors slammed open with Haruko panting and holding Hanabi saying something was wrong with her.

The man jumped from his position at the table and dashed to his wife's side.

"What's wrong ?" asked the worried father.

"I don't know but Naruto discovered that she has stomach pains!" she said and that was all that Hiashi needed to understand that the situation may be dire.

"Haruko, I'll take Hanabi to the doctor, you take Naruto and come to the hospital!" he said taking the baby from the woman's arms.

"But I …" she wanted to protest but Hiashi stopped her.

"Haruko, I can get there faster if I go by myself and you know about condition! Trust me and let me take care of this!" he answered.

"Nii-sama, I'll come with you!" said Hizashi in a running pose a few feet behind his brother.

Hiashi nodded and they both disappeared taking to the roofs. Haruko got Naruto and Hinata (since she didn't want to be left out) and exited the compound in a hurry.

They got to the hospital in record time and went to the clerk. Naruto was still holding the woman's left hand looking fine and flaring his chakra every ten minutes or so while Hinata was holding her mother's right hand and was panting heavily. Haruko wasn't looking all that fine herself since her illness meant a lack of exercise.

The woman behind the desk looked like an angel in white until she saw the blond and sneered at him. Haruko noticed this but left it for now.

"Hello, my husband Hiashi Hyuuga came earlier with my daughter Hanabi! Please tell me where to find them." she said in a panic.

"They are with doctor Mamoru, room 325 to the left. They got here ten minutes ago." she answered the woman but then looked down to Naruto. "But if you go to see them please have _that_ wait outside!" she sneered again, pointing to the boy making him look sad.

A split second later the clerk found herself pinned to the wall behind her desk with Haruko's right hand grabbing her hospital coat and her left palm stretched in a knife like fashion to her throat. The Hyuuga mother had her Byakugan active and was giving a menacing rage-filled glare to the hospital worker.

"DO NOT CALL HIM _THAT_ EVER AGAIN IN MY PRESENCE… OR ANY OTHER FOR THAT MATTER!" she growled at the clerk but felt a calming wave as Naruto pumped a great deal of Ranpu chakra into her by grabbing her ankle. She then looked at the boy who shook his head from side to side and was trying to pull Haruko away from the woman.

Haruko then calmed down, released her Byakugan and lowered her hand from the woman's throat but still kept the other on her clothes.

"You're lucky Naruto is kind enough to forgive you, because I wouldn't have. And for the record if he hadn't stopped me, your _job_ would have been the least of your concerns." Haruko growled once more and released the woman and, taking the two children's hands and going off to find room 325.

They found it pretty quickly and entered it, finding Hiashi standing on a chair holding his sleeping baby girl and next to him was a doctor that looked pretty young and with brown hair that was fixed to the back of his head by a clamp and square glasses that sat on his nose. (picture Aizen from Bleach with the clamp)

"Hello! You must be Hanabi-chan's mother, Haruko-san. I am doctor Mamoru." the doctor said while smiling.

The woman nodded and bowed to the man and then asked "Sensei (doctor, teacher), how is Hanabi? Is she alright?"

Mamoru smiled even more "Yes she is fine. She had a bowel obstruction in her small intestine that caused her pain. It wasn't serious yet so we treated her with some light syrup medication that cleared her system. It is a common condition for kids this age, but I'm surprised you found out this so early on and didn't let it advance to a more complicated situation. Most parents can't tell the signs and bring their children in when the problems multiply and if left untreated it can rupture the intestine and can lead to death. I guess having the Byakugan can help see things like this." he said shaking his head and holding his hands in a I-don't-really-know fashion.

Haruko let out a long breath of relief. "Actually, we don't use our Byakugan at home except during the day for training or for special circumstances, privacy issues. All the credit for the discovery goes to Naruto-kun here she said and leaving the boy a little confused.

"Umm… so Hanabi-chan is alright?" he looked at the doctor.

The sensei smiled and nodded while congratulating him for being a smart boy, making Naruto pump his fist and say "Yatta! (Alright)" but making sure not to scream seeing that Hanabi was asleep. He didn't know what a family felt like until now but he did watch a lot of families with their kids in the park when he was homeless and knew that you should not yell near a sleeping baby.

But then Hanabi sneakily opened one eye and smiled at her father who noticed this. "Naruto…" the man called. The blond came closer until he was less than a foot away. Hiashi slowly handed the girl to him while saying "That's it, gently and with both arms. You're a natural boy!" he said looking at Naruto holding the baby.

Hanabi then opened both milky white pupil-less eyes wide and then she squinted them. Then she closed them and started gurgling a baby's giggle surprising the boy and making his face shine bright with kindness.

Then both Hinata and Haruko came closer and they shared a good family moment.

The next day Hiashi called for a family council. Since they got home pretty late he decided to let the children sleep in a little bit so when he did so (calling for the council) it was already noon.

The said council got assembled rather quickly seeing that most of its members were retired elders that lived in the compound.

"Hiashi-sama, why have you summoned us?" one council member asked.

"I have called you to announce the fact that I am taking Naruto Uzumaki as my student along Hinata. I will also be allowing him to stay in a guest room of the main house with Yukihime as his attendant per her request."

The news was like throwing a grenade in an oil tanker. It was all the council needed to start uproar.

"Hiashi-sama you can't be serious!" yelled an older man.

"He cannot be allowed to stay here!" barked another one.

"This is an outrage Hiashi-sama!" shouted some of them in unison.

They all had something to say and were voicing their reactions between themselves until they felt a monstrous killer intent directed at them from Hiashi who had his Byakugan activated.

"Are. You. Finished.?" said the Hyuuga Head still keeping an emotionless face and tone.

"Aoi! You of all people I was not expecting to oppose me so much!" he looked at an elderly Hyuuga.

"But Hiashi-sama that monster will ruin the clan's image!" he expressed his opinion.

Hiashi now frowned and retorted "Aoi… Do you know what the doctors told me two months ago about your daughter Haruko?". This made the elder back up a little. "They told me that she had at most six months to live." Hiashi now closed his eyes but his Doujutsu remained active.

"Last night Hanabi had a problem and so, my wife and I took her to the hospital. After Hanabi was given the all clear, we also went to check on Haruko's health. Do you know what happened? … The doctors nearly fainted claiming it was a miracle! Her body was slowly recovering and they said that if this keeps up, she will be fully recovered in two years and have a normal, healthy body. And you know what? The doctors were right, it was a miracle. That miracle's name is Uzumaki Naruto. As you know he has the ability to use 'Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms' and that alone is a miracle, but … this ability is also has the power to cure your daughter, which it's slowly doing!".

Hiashi turned to the council leaving the old man to pick his jaw from the ground.

"Need I remind you that he saved Hizashi, my brother and leader of the branch family council, that he rescued Hinata, my daughter and your future leader, from a life as a breeding … thing, (Hiashi now showed anger and disgust) saving our clan's honor and Doujutsu at the same time? NEED I REMIND YOU THAT?" he shouted at the men who were left speechless and looking away.

"For all of this he should be an honorary member of the clan but he's not asking for that. He's not asking for anything. Our clan members are seen as heartless monsters to the villagers of Konoha… and looking at you right now makes me think that they were right!" this made most of the councilors cringe. "Are you willing to throw a child on the streets ? To have him fend for himself?" he asked.

"B-but Hiashi-sama, what if the seal breaks and he merges with the you-know-what?" one last worried man said.

"And you wish to hasten it? Besides, if it does, I'm sure the boy can control the beast…" these words made the council raise an eyebrow at Hiashi "… and if I'm wrong who do you think that he will come for first? If anger is what drives the beast then, do you want to cause him more pain?". The men and women of the council looked pale. Most of them were already convinced of the boy's good intentions and worth before they even began talking about Kurama, but now they were petrified of the outcome of the worst situation.

"I want to give him support, to help him fight off the beast if needed. This was not even up to debate. I entertained your childish antics and came out very disgusted and disappointed. I will tell you again, Uzumaki Naruto will be my student and guest. Do you understand?" and received honest nods from them.

"Good! Then this meeting is adjourned!" and with that he left.

**** END OF CHAPTER TWO ****

*Notes*

For those who say that you need superb chakra control to be a medic, I agree but wait and see what I have planned.

I plan to present Naruto's childhood in detail so it may take 3-4 chapters until he gets to the academy.

I want to have a poll to choose which ideas are best. To vote just review and/or write the number and answer. (Eg. 1-Y for question one answer yes, or 1-N for question 1 answer no)

1) Should this evolve into a mini harem (female characters being Hinata, FemHaku and Karin from team Taka (shippuuden but appears in a flashback at the Chuunin exams) (This may be incest since she is an Uzumaki though not sure how closely related she is to Naruto).

There may be one other. I accept suggestions except the rookie 9 kunoichi and Kin and Tayuya and ESPECIALLY SAKURA since I have other plans for her. You may invent one and post description of looks, powers, and affiliation)

2) Should I give Naruto a sister younger/twin/older or female cousin younger/same age/older? (2-SY for younger sister, 2-ST for twin, 2-SO you get the point , 2-CY/CT/CO for cousin younger/same age/older, 2-N for nothing)

3) Naruto will inherit a large fortune. (3-Y/N)

4) Tsunade will come earlier but not before Naruto makes Genin. (4-Y/N)

5) Sarutobi Hiruzen lives after his fight with Orochimaru. (the results for this will be secret ^_^) (5-Y/N)

6) Do you want short chapters but frequent update or long chapters with irregular (and maybe long wait times) updates? (6-S for short chapters, 6-L long chapters)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know it's a lot but please read, it's important.

I know this chapter was supposed to cover age 5-9 but it appears that I will have to split it as I want to see what you think so far.

Most of my story is based on info from Narutopedia.

Naruto is quite mature for his age but he had to fend for himself ever since he could remember. He still acts like a child at times but he knows exactly how cruel and unforgiving life can be.

Before you say that he is progressing too quickly remember that now Kurama is on his side, he has help from the Hyuuga and he learned the Shadow Clone. If this didn't convince you remember that Kakashi became a shinobi when he was 6 and Itachi at 7. In my story Naruto is a genius that he should have been if people supported him AND has a kick-ass power. In fact I even toned him down from what I had planned.

I am not having Naruto adopted by the Hyuuga. There is another way to join a family *evil fox smile*

I still plan to make Naruto the dead-last class clown but with a sneaky purpose.

In my story Naruto does not suffer from information overload (Shadow Clones). It's just a side effect of Soujin Seishin or something like that.

I don't think that Hiashi's wife had the Byakugan in the original story but it serves its purpose in my story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto related stuff and characters!

Ch 3

Previously on _Naruto of the Shinsougan_

"I want to give him support, to help him fight off the beast if needed. This was not even up to debate. I entertained your childish antics and came out very disgusted and disappointed. I will tell you again, Uzumaki Naruto will be my student and guest. Do you understand?" and received honest nods from them.

"Good! Then this meeting is adjourned!" and with that he left.

Main story:

It had been eight months since that fateful meeting. Haruko had told Hiashi about the S-class secret meeting with Kurama and also let 'slip' the story about the hospital clerk. In the background Ibiki was grinning wildly.

Naruto was now practicing his Juken with a hundred shadow clones. He had fifty clones spar between themselves, thirty to practice the more advanced moves, ten to practice the basic katas and ten to walk among the other clones , observing the actions from afar and, in the case of those practicing the katas to correct what wrong movements they saw.

The boy was already the best fighter in his age group, and could even give Hiashi a run for his money when they were fighting only with skill and not chakra, having used this training method for nearly a year and four months now. He first used it with Hiashi-sensei.

*Long Flashback*

Hiashi was in his family dojo in a seiza position with Naruto and Hinata mirroring him. The dojo was a traditional one with wooden bamboo floor and paper and wood walls. The boy was dressed in an aikido-karate mix-style gi with white top and black pants and with his wrists and ankles bandaged, while she was wearing a black body suit. "Naruto-kun, for three months now I have been teaching you and Hinata the basic katas of the Juken. I want to see how far have you are into master them. I want you and Hinata to have a light spar right in front of me with no Byakugan or Ranpu abilities." said the Juken master (Hiashi) earning two eager "HAI!" from both of them.

Naruto then put his hands in a clone seal and created a shadow clone. Hiashi raised an eyebrow but Naruto said that the clone will not interfere with the fight, but wants to make it watch so he can see his own mistakes from an outside viewpoint, asking for permission as well. Hiashi smirked and nodded in approval and the clone moved to a safe distance and sat down like Hiashi.

They quickly got into position and bowed, got into a basic Juken stance (A\N Look it up on the net. I am too lazy to write) and waited for the go from Hiashi.

He let the tension rise a bit and saw that Hinata looked away for a bit but Naruto didn't even flinch. The Hyuuga man raised his hand and they both lowered their head. He then flicked his hand down shouting "Hajime! (Start!)"

Both kids engaged in a blow for blow exchange with one another with Naruto being the better of the two until Hinata, avoiding a palm strike to the face, bent her body in an unnatural way and hit Naruto with a leg sweep making him lose balance and fall face first towards the ground but he did a hand flip and recovered fast and went for the attack again with the girl still avoiding him in ways he didn't believe the body could move. They stood still to regain their breaths but they had their guards up. They both charged forward for the finishing strike but before they could deliver it a loud 'clap' was heard bringing them both to a halt.

"That's enough! To me!" Hiashi ordered them to come with an emotionless face. Training was the only time the kids saw the traditional image of an ice-cold Hyuuga.

They understood for a while now that even though he was harsh, his training methods worked and he would sneak a smirk now and then when he was praising them mentally.

They both came panting to their master and sat down seiza-style in front of him on the dojo floor.

The man then closed his eyes and began speaking "Hinata… Your movements were terrible!" this made the girl frown a little but she knew what her father really meant. He really said that there is room for greater improvement. Naruto helped her with these translations two weeks ago. "You focus on moves that need power and speed that you lack. You still need more training! Rest now because you will spar one more time." finished the man turning to the blond.

"Naruto… Your movements were text-book perfect but show signs of heavy repetition. You have been using Kage Bunshin to practice right?" earning a nod from the boy "And so you lose the mental flexibility and creativity that comes from combining different moves. Keep in mind that a powerful Juken user is only as strong as his mind is. When using the Juken, a simple poke that nobody knows you can do, can be more devastating than a perfect strike to the heart when everybody knows it is coming." he pointed out to the boy who nodded with eyes filled with resolve. "Assume your positions!" he ordered them again "And Naruto… drop the bands!"

Naruto froze in place for a split second looking surprised but then started unraveling his white wrist and ankle bandages revealing black bands that had a chain seal drawn in white on them with the wrist ones having small reusable storage seals in the middle (think of a wristwatch like pattern). Hinata didn't look too surprised.

Those bands were variable gravity bands that had accelerometer and force sensor seals that adjusted the gravity of them just above the tolerance level for the user making him or her to never get used to them.

"Hiashi-sensei…" this was what the boy called him during training "…how did you know?" he asked.

Hiashi's expression remained emotionless when he answered. "Simple, you were panting just as heavily as Hinata. Who gave those to you?"

"An AMBU with a fox mask gave them to me two weeks ago. He said it was a present from Hokage-sama to make me strong. He said to never take them off no matter what." he honestly answered.

Hiashi cocked an eyebrow "And you didn't find it strange that Hokage-sama didn't give you those personally?"

"I did but I thought he was busy so he sent an ANBU to give it to me, plus I couldn't see his eyes to tell if he was lying because of the mask." Now the boy was getting a bit unnerved.

The Juken master let out a sigh. "Naruto, that ANBU, if that's what he was, tricked you!"

"What?" said the boy in surprise.

"I believe he gave you those bands to impede your movements if you ever went outside so you couldn't run if they chased you." These words made the boy cringe and tighten his fists. But then Hiashi, in a rare training moment, chuckled. "Unlucky for them, thanks to Kurama-san, it actually had the effect of making you stronger." the man said leaving a dumbstruck Naruto. "Now take them off, begin your spar and you will see why."

The boy complied, unzipping them from his wrists and placing them down near Hiashi. He then entered the Juken stance with Hinata doing the same. The man then shouted "Hajime!" again.

What followed could only be described as a nasty experience for Hinata as Naruto dashed to the side in a blur (not impossible to see; think of the anime fight between Neji and Naruto when he used the fox's chakra. That's how it seemed to Hinata though it was not THAT fast), stopping within ten inches in front of Hinata landing a powerful palm strike to her chest that sent her flying backwards. He then appeared behind her before she even made it to solid ground giving a powerful kick to her back that caused her to yelp a bit and propelled her through the air spinning from the waist. She managed to land with cat like grace but was heavily disorientated and was a sitting duck. Naruto was running forward leaving a streak of white and black behind him and was ready to deliver her a double palm strike Kamehameha-style to her abdomen, when another loud 'clap' stopped the display and Hinata buckled backwards with the boy dashed in and caught her before she hit the ground making her blush a little.

"Naruto, bring Hinata over here so she can rest!" and the boy complied with the order, laying her down near him and pumping a little Ranpu chakra to vitalize her.

"See what I meant?" the Hyuuga man asked the blond who nodded in response and was looking at his fists while flexing them, still a little surprised.

"From now on you may wear those bands if you choose to but you must take them off in life or death situations. That is an order!"

"HAI!" answered Naruto.

Then the man smirked a bit before looking at Hinata who was sitting now. "Hinata, don't let this experience get to you. It was valuable in its own way." he said to the girl who nodded but was still a little sad. "And if you want I can get you some similar bands made especially for you!" he said letting a trace of fatherly kindness escape his frozen look.

"R-really T-tou-sama?" she almost could not believe it.

"Of course! If you promise to use them consistently and not throw them away like an old toy you get bored of." he teased his daughter agreeing that training for the day was over.

Instead of getting flushed she snapped back at him "HAI Tou-sama! I promise on my nindo!"

Now Hiashi was the one feeling like he was in a dream. Not only this was one rare moment when Hinata didn't stutter but it seems that the boy's behavior rubbed off on her for the better. Naruto only smiled at the situation.

"Very well, I think you both agree to end this session early. Let's continue with meditation near the koi pond.

*Flashback end*

He knew that tomorrow, even though it was the day before his birthday, Hiashi told him that there will be something important regarding the Gentile Fist and it just so happened that was his worst part. Even though he had basically mastered its forms, with over 50 years of combined clone practice, his chakra was just not suited for this as its very nature was special since it fluctuated in intensity.

No matter what he did he just couldn't stabilize the stuff. Hiashi described this as trying to walk in the rain without getting wet (with no jutsu or umbrella). He knew that it was because of the seal, because even though Kurama had stopped fighting the boy's chakra, it was still being forced into the blond's system causing internal 'ripples' as they combined. The only time he wasn't suffering from this was when he was full as the seal would stop 'feeding' him to keep him from overloading, or when he was near zero when he could use pure Bijuu chakra.

Naruto tried every chakra control exercise he could find in Konoha from meditating, balancing a leaf in your hand, tree walking, water walking, waterfall walking, and even created new ones like sleeping while hanging from a tree with your chakra (a clone did this though and in the morning it fell) and mastered them all. Meditating was his favorite as he got a chance to talk to Kurama. He had absolutely perfect chakra control, worthy enough to be called legendary.

He had even mastered the Hiraishin. He remembered the occasion with a sheepish grin.

*Long flashback*

It had been about six months since the council meeting and Naruto just mastered the water walking exercise that came after the leaf balance and tree walking that Hiashi showed him to improve his control. Having the power to do a lot of clones helped do this since he could now do months of training in a matter of weeks. He was dressed in the same training gi.

He was still practicing a little by meditating in the middle of the koi pond when a branch member came over saying "Naruto-sama, Hokage-sama summons you to his tower!"

Naruto then got up and jumped to the man. "Thank you for telling me Satoshi-san!" he said and bowed.

The Hyuuga bowed back "It was no problem Naruto-sama!" answering with a smile. His relations with the other members of the family were vastly improving, but that is a story for later.

Now Naruto was jumping from rooftop to rooftop heading for the Kage tower. Why did the old man call him now? He kept thinking about it but as he got close he decided to surprise Hiruzen and instead of the normal path to the man's office he took the scenic route heading for the wall of the tower and an open window. He stealthily made his way up the wall and peeked inside the tower only to find the old pervert reading an orange book with a man chasing a woman called "Make Out Paradise" (from now on MOP).

He tip toed behind the Hokage who had a red face and was giggling like an idiot. The boy was looking over the man's shoulder with a foxy grin and yelled "HEY! HOKAGE-SAMA!" from the top of his lungs.

The next second all that was holding the man's robe, hat and book in place was an afterimage and air pressure with the man hanging from the roof like a cartoon cat (with chakra) and while he was disorientated Naruto unsealed a camera from his wrist bands and made a picture (will be useful later) and could swear the shadows in the corners were laughing.

"NARUTO! DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" screamed the Kage using a Gigantic Head no Jutsu that would make Iruka proud.

"Umm you wanted to see me?" he said wiping his tears he got from laughing.

The old man motioned his hand and two puffs of smoke appeared in the dark corners of the office making Naruto activate his Ranpu jutsu in surprise.

It seems that Sarutobi didn't learn from his mistake the first time and went through 25 hand signs and then slapped his hands together "Fuinjutsu: Tomb of Secrets".

Seals leaked from the old Hokage's shadow and got written into the walls.

Hiruzen let out a sigh before hearing Naruto say "Cool!" He then lifted his eyelids to see a very bright eyed blond boy (literally). He then face palmed himself and asked Naruto through the fingers "Tell me that you did not see how I did that!"

"Sorry Hokage-sama but you know I hate lying!" he said smiling with full teeth on display.

"I was afraid of that! Never mind. I called you here because I understood that you mastered the water walking exercise. Is this true?" The blond nodded.

"Okay then, as I promised, today you will start learning your father's Hiraishin no Jutsu!" the professor said.

The boy felt like he wanted to bounce off the walls but months of meditating with Hiashi gave him better control over his actions but he was still a six year old boy so he still shook in excitement while a tear came down his smiling face.

The aged Kage felt his heart skip for joy as he saw the blond's expression. He then lifted the seals just a little to let the doors be opened. He then pushed the buzzer on the intercom.

"Send for the Goei Shotai (Guard platoon)!" he said. (A/N: Look it up)

"Right away Hokage-sama!" responded the secretary.

In less than a minute the doors opened and three men entered led by Genma Shiranui.

"You wanted to see us Hokage-sama?" asked Genma.

"Close the doors!" Hiruzen ordered and they complied. The confidentiality seal covered the door again and the men knew it was something serious but why was there a six year old child sitting on the couch if this was such an important matter.

"I called you here because I know that you are some of the Hokage's most loyal shinobi, past or present!" Sarutobi said looking out the window. He then turned his head to them and they saw the dead-serious look on his face asking. "Am I wrong?"

They went from 'at ease' to standing in attention as they answered in unison "No sir!"

"Good because I have an S-class mission for you that is the highest S-class secret (something like SSS)!" Hiruzen told them now fully turned and facing the platoon.

They tensed but stood silent.

Hokage inhaled and held it briefly "I need you to… teach this boy the Hiraishin in secret!"

The platoon all blinked with beady-style eyes (Barney Rubble) and looked at the Hokage with an 'are-you-fucking-serious' look on their face.

Naruto noticed this and began to snicker silently and with nobody noticing as he snapped another photo (just for memory).

"Umm… Hokage-sama, could you please give me one good reason to teach some snot-nose brat Minato-sama's prized technique?" Genma asked. Naruto was too busy snickering to notice that he had just been insulted.

Hokage let out a sigh he prepared for beforehand (the long breath) and looked at the boy who was silently laughing. "Naruto, come here!" he said making the boy switch to serious mode in an instant (effect of living and training with Hiashi). The blond nodded and went to the Hokage standing in front of him.

"What I will tell or show you three now is an SSS-class secret punishable by death!" he said with a little killer intent causing all three men to gulp.

"Now tell me…" the professor continued "… who does this boy look like the most?"

They all raised an eyebrow until Genma got the courage to speak. "Umm… with the birthmarks on his face I would say he looks like something else whose mention is punishable by death" he wearily (and stupidly) answered.

Hiruzen face-palmed himself again while Naruto smiled at the fact that he looked like his Nii-chan (he was happy even though they say he looks like a ten story tall demon fox).

Sarutobi then moved to the side leaving Naruto directly under the photo of the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze.

"Look again and tell me who he resembles!" the Kage ordered.

The platoon looked again with bored expressions but froze in place and began looking as white as ghosts.

"Th-th- the Y-Yondaime Hokage!" they said in unison, even stuttering the same sounds at the same time.

"Hokage Guard Platoon meet Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki's son!"

Naruto raised his hand and said "Sup'?" and Genma together with the others fainted.

The boy began poking them with a stick and said "Hokage-jii-san, will they be alright?"

Hiruzen's eyes bulged in surprise. Naruto just called him a warmer form of his title. Oh how he missed hearing 'jii' coming out of the boy's mouth and addressed to him. He then nodded.

After they recovered, they accepted the mission and went together with Naruto to a secluded cave near the outskirts. There Genma sealed the entrance with a low-rank Doton. (A/N: I'm too lazy to pick one. Gimme a break, its 2:08 AM)

The cave was well illuminated by holes in the ceiling and so, they could see… rocks. The cave was pretty bare.

"Okay kid, stop sightseeing and pay attention. Now front and center!" Genma ordered.

Naruto almost shunshined in front of him.

"Well at least you know how to listen to orders, which is good for now. Geez I don't know why Hokage-sama wants us to show this gaki (brat, kid wet-behind-the-ear) his father's technique. He will probably just brag to his friends and get a target painted on him. Really, Hokage-sama could have at least waited for him to be a Gennin. All kids do is dream. Gaki, do you know that this thing could get you killed if Iwa (rock) find out about you?" the man said picking his ear with his pinky and looking some other way. When he looked back he was surprised indeed.

Naruto was boiling inside and the only thing that was keeping his anger in check was the flashing faces of the kind Hyuuga family that cared for him and whom he swore to protect. That meant get stronger and that meant learn his dad's jutsu. His face then got half-shadowed above the cheeks.

When Genma finished his speech the blond reached for his seal and unsealed a kunai he used for target practice with Hiashi.

The platoon went on alert not knowing what the boy would do but this he just cut the belt on his white top (it was tied really good as to not slip off during training) letting it unfold and fall to the ground sliding of the child's shoulders.

The squad went a little pale as they saw the preteen's body covered with faded scars, some of whom were shining in the light that seeped through the cracks in the walls. The kid looked like a broken vase that was put back together with glue.

Naruto then spoke. "Yeah, your right, kids dream! They dream and dream of nothing but greatness. And I admit that I dream like that as well! I dream to be Hokage and protect those that saved me from the nightmare of my first years of life. Tell me Genma-san, what is your earliest memory? What can you remember from your childhood?" the blond asked.

"I…I ummm…I'm not really sure… " the man stuttered.

"Well I can! I can still see the punch, of the one who should have taken care of me at the orphanage, flying towards my face in slow motion. I can still remember the first meeting with starvation as I ate only moldy bread, the first sting of the kunai that hit me in my back, as I was running for my life! The first pain of the bat that swung at me! The first fire that ate my skin as I was burned at the stake!" Naruto paused a little bit seeing the compassionate and worried look on the men.

"But I also remember that first night I met my nii-san, the first time I saw Haruko-san defeating a bear, the first time I felt the warmth of an embrace, the first bowl of Ramen, the first time I held Hanabi-chan in my arms and THE FIRST TIME SOMEBODY CONSIDERED ME HUMAN AND GAVE ME A HOME!" Naruto yelled at the men with eyes filled with both pain and happiness making them sweat and take a step back.

"THEY SAVED ME FROM THAT HELLISH NIGHTMARE CALLED LONELINESS SO NOW I CAN DREAM TOO!" he took a step towards the men who backed up some more.

Naruto closed his eyes "Now I dream! I dream of protecting the people I care about and the village they love so much so they and their kids will never suffer that horrible ordeal! And so, my dream became my ambition…"

He opened his eyes showing the Will of Fire burning like the Sun in each one.

"Because being Hokage, is my dream!"

All men had they mouths open slightly looking at the blond but then Genma knelt on one knee and the others followed.

"And should your dream become real, the Hokage Guard Platoon will be your shield!" he said and Naruto smiled. "Yosh, let's get to it! This brat's not going to learn his dad's jutsu by himself now is he?"

In the Hokage tower Hiruzen was looking through his crystal ball at the scene. He then lowered his hat on his face and spoke "Couldn't have said it better myself!"

_(A/N: When I'm writing, nothing is known about the Hirashin no Jutsu in the original series (Manga: Just as Naruto learned the name of the 2to7 tailed beasts) except that it is similar to the Summoning Jutsu (SJ) and its variation the Reverse Summoning Jutsu. As I see it, the SJ and RSJ, the ninja opens a space-time window and uses his chakra to pull the summoned creature through that window. The Hiraishin I think uses chakra to push, rather than pull, the user through. What I don't know is how that s-t window is formed or how big it is and if the traveling body deconstructs (kind of like Stargate) when travelling through (though I think not for a couple of reasons) and other special conditions like why the yellow flash occurs or why the kunai are different. Since the original may still present the jutsu and how it's done I will be as evasive as possible on how Naruto learns it to avoid ruining a later reader's image. Sorry, but hey, I expected Kurama and Naruto become buddies ever since I saw the battle at the Valley of the End, so maybe I'll be lucky. ) _

Four days later Naruto learned how to send objects to other parts using the Hiraishin as well as how to do the 'target seal' (thanks to 60 clones practicing with him). He was using his clones and practicing with rocks as Genma said that:

"Kid, remember that I told you it's like a summoning jutsu but chakra works the other way around?" Naruto nodded. "Well, when you use that the Summoning Jutsu you use hand-seals and your body as a beacon to keep the window open. The Hiraishin uses only your chakra to keep it open so if you goof before getting to the other side you get crushed by it. Just so you know, it takes all three of us to keep that from happening." Said Genma pointing to his partners making the boy become curious and frightened. "Okay, until you get the feel of the jutsu I want you to practice moving rocks with the Hiraishin! Start with ones that fit into your hands and move on to bigger ones!"

Naruto looked to Genma with a pout and squinty eyes surprising the man.

"What?" asked Genma.

"So that's why we train here!" declared Naruto looking to the rocky cave making the man sigh in relief.

"Yup! Now get to it!" he bent his torso looking directly into the boy's eyes.

"Hai!"

Four hours later, the blond and his clones were making sand and pebbles out of hand sized rocks. All of… 'him' were looking frustrated and tired. Genma saw this and moved to the original.

"Listen kid, don't lose your cool! With this jutsu, getting impatient could be deadly! It took me and my mates a long time to learn this jutsu and we are (Tokubetsu or Special) Jounin and we had help from its creator. If it was easy, then the Sandaime would have learned and used it, but it's not! Just take it easy, you got time! I want you to practice like I told you every day here and when you can move a boulder to the maximum of your chakra reserves, come to me and we will move on the finer parts like sensing the right target and eventually 'jumping' a living being." he told the blond putting a hand on his shoulder. Naruto smiled and nodded.

Two and a half weeks later we find the boy heading for the Hokage's office. He passed the secretary and knocked on the door. He heard 'Come in!' and entered. He found the old man behind a mountain of paperwork tying a rope in a way made it look like a noose.

"Naruto, what brings you here?" asked the man in a weak voice.

"Umm… Hokage-jii-san ,are you… alright?" the boy asked worryingly.

The Kage released a sigh and looked at the boy "No, Naruto. I'm too old for this blasted paperwork that's eating away my life, but don't worry about it. What can I do for you?"

"Well I was looking for Genma-san but I couldn't find him. I finished the first part of the training and I wanted to show him!" the blond answered.

Hiruzen was surprised that Naruto finished that part so fast. He got a report from the man a while back that told him of the training and how difficult it was as it took three Jounin to do the jutsu. He shrugged it off, 'blaming' the boy's genes and summoned the guard platoon who arrived under two minutes.

"Hey Genma-san, I finished it!" chirped the boy making the men sweat-drop.

"Okay kid, let's go to the training area and you can show us!" the man smiled.

"Not the training area since it doesn't have big enough boulders. Let's go to the top of Hokage mountain, there's some good ones there!" chirped the boy again giving the men beady eyes.

"O-okay!" Genma stuttered.

When they were about to leave Naruto turned to the Hokage.

"Hokage-jii-san, why don't you use Shadow Clones to do the paperwork? I do it all the times with Haruko-san when studying or doing homework, I even have one now studying with her and watching her health. Gia-ne (bye, see you later)!" he walked out with a smile. (A/N: Old idea I know, but it works!)

Sarutobi now had the top of his face shadowed and had a blue background. He then went through about seven hand-signs and then put his right hand on the desk whispering "Tokubestu Kuchiyose no Jutsu" (Special SJ).

A wooden target about half a meter wide and a quarter inch thick materialized where the man had placed his hand. There was writing on it that said 'In case of realizing something obvious and simple, use this!' and the man proceeded to get full points banging his head against the bullseye.

Meanwhile on Hokage Mountain, three men and one boy were standing at the base of a boulder one and a half times the size of a double decker bus.

"This one should be good enough!" said a smiling boy making the men sweat.

"Umm… kid, what do you mean 'good enough'? For what?" Genma asked, a little worried about the answer.

"What do you mean 'for what'? For the Hiraishin of course! You told me to send a boulder the size of my chakra to the 'target seal' but I had to leave a clone at home with a good amount of chakra to study and take care of Haruko-san so I'm about two thirds full!" he answered in a matter-of-factly way making the men sweat-drop.

"Look kid, it's not good to lie. A shinobi should …" Genma started to preach making the boy pout and move to the boulder. He then placed one hand on it and it disappeared in an orange flash appearing thirty feet away near a pre-prepared 'target seal', in perfect condition.

(A/N: Naruto's flash is orange. His father was the Yellow-flash and his mother was the Red-Hot Habanero so his color is Orange. I am one of the few who support Naruto's choice of color and think that if they could use Henge why care about the color of their clothes. I mean the blond could Henge into tar and become perfectly unrecognizable.)

The men's jaws became unhinged and they looked like Jiraya walking by mistake into a gay bar (no racism or however you call it intended). They just couldn't believe it!

Near them a panting Naruto "You were saying?"

They all shook their head and then looked at him smiling. Genma gave him a smooth toothy smirk and said "Well done kid! Well done!"

They spent the next month and about 1500 total shadow clones teaching the kid how to 'jump' living beings and fine tuning the jutsu as well as teaching Naruto how to make and place a 'target seal' without writing it. At the end they were in the forest on the outskirts of the village about to test him.

"Okay kid, we placed those 70 target seals that I asked you to make me yesterday all over the village and surrounding area. Each of them has a flag. I want you to get those in under 10 seconds." The boy nodded.

"In case you complain later, I want you to know that your dad could defeat a small army of 700 in that time, in the heat of battle. Live targets that move and fight back, you got that?"

Naruto nodded. He always loved to hear stories about his dad. Genma pulled out a big digital stopwatch and placed it on a rock above a target seal.

"Ready, set, GO!"

The man hit the start button of this device, barely having time to pull his hand before Naruto appeared with the flags and hitting the stop. The man then looked at the watch.

"0.32 seconds! Not Yellow-flash level but it's very impressive!"

The boy smiled at the praise but then got a thought about asking "Umm… what is your time?"

The men then began to sweat and look like they stepped on something nasty. They then turned to each other and looked at the ground while a dark clout formed above them. Genma then mumbled something.

"Sorry what?" Naruto asked a little worried about them.

"1…1.21 seconds!" they dropped to the ground and started playing with the dirt while Naruto rubbed the back of his head and smiled.

(A/N: Like I said sorry for the vague description of the training)

*End flashback*

Naruto snickered a little bit remembering this but dropped his shoulders and let out a sigh realizing that he still didn't get his Juken down. He then finished his training understanding that he should go and rest seeing the sun go down. He dispelled the clones and got their memories back but there was almost no clear improvement in his control. He then walked back to the Hyuuga compound. He would have flashed there but he promised the Hokage not to use it until he became a shinobi.

He opened the gate and walked in and saw a Hyuuga boy a year older than him practicing his taijutsu. The boy was a little taller than him and had long hair that reached down to his shoulder blades where it was tied with a simple piece of cloth. He was Neji Hyuuga, son of Hizashi and even though he only knew him for a month or so, he became Naruto's best (boy) friend. He remembered the day when he met him. How could he forget, it was his birthday after all.

*Long Flashback*

It was the morning 10th of October and the festival honoring the defeat of the Kyuubi was in full swing. Naruto was in his room hiding, since old habits die hard and this one was beaten into him by his caretakers (orphanage) and villagers. He was sitting in a lotus position, meditating and talking to Kurama. Hiashi was at the hospital with his wife for her monthly checkup.

"Kurama-nii-san!" the boy shouted at the ten story fox. Naruto had figured out a long time ago how to change this place, and now it looked just like the Forest of Death (training ground 44) that Naruto used to train in sometimes, even down to the small animals. Naruto also reduced Kurama's seal manifestation to a body seal made of 13 bracelets that covered his wrists, ankles and tails that had soundless chains connecting them to a metal collar that had the circular seal lock on it. The area even had a day-night cycle and all damage Kurama did regenerated overnight. Of course Kurama couldn't use his full chakra abilities thanks to his seal but it was still nicer than a sewer.

"**Hey there kit!**" answered the resident fox.

"Know what day is today?"

"**Hmm I wonder, what could today be that got you so excited?**" he pretended not to know.

"Nii-san!" the boy pouted.

"**He-he! Happy birthday kit! Sorry I couldn't get you a present, I was only sealed in your abdomen!**" teased Kurama.

"Don't need any!" he answered making the Bijuu raise an eyebrow "After all, on this day I got my Nii-san!" he flashed a toothy grin but there was a hole in them. He was a growing boy after all and his baby-teeth started falling.

Kurama looked at him in surprise but then "**BWHAHAHAHA! What happened to your teeth? Did you scream so much that they fell out?**" the fox laughed.

"Nope! Haruko-san says that my baby-teeth are falling out so I can get stronger ones!" he answered with an expression that was a cross between matter-of-factly and pout.

"**Kit, love to stay and chat but somebody is looking for you on the outside!**"

"Okay. Bye Nii-san!" the boy chirped and awoke to the sight of Hizashi that had his hand on a Hyuuga boy about the same age as Naruto.

The man smiled and bowed a little at Naruto who had gotten to his feet.

"Naruto-kun I came to wish you a happy birthday! I brought my son with me today so you can meet him! Say hello Neji!" the man turned to the Hyuuga boy.

The boy looked a little stiff when he took a step forward and bowed "Greetings! I am Neji Hyuuga! If my honorable father is correct then I wish to extend my birthday salutations as well!" he said in a very respectful tone.

Now Naruto was no longer a stranger to etiquette or knowledge as he was at first. Haruko taught him (mostly his clone) about the finer movements and speech patterns concerning manners and such… but Neji's speech left him dumbstruck.

"Neji means that he also wishes you a happy birthday." said the man who was laughing a bit.

"Oh, then thank you both!" the blond bowed.

"Neji, I have to go meet with Hiashi-sama. Why don't you stay here with Naruto and have fun." the man said smirking a little bit towards the blond and heading for the door.

"Hai Chichue!" (honorable father) Neji answered.

Naruto then walked a bit closer to the boy.

"So what do you want to do?" the blond chirped.

"Anything you want to do Naruto-sama!" was Neji's emotionless response making Naruto cringe.

"Okay! Then I want to do what you like!" responded the boy showing a sneaky grin.

"Well I like training. I'm sure Naruto –sama wouldn't like that on his bir…" before Neji even finished his sentence, Naruto got up and changed out of his indoor orange silk kimono that Haruko got him as an early birthday after 'convincing' her husband and got dressed into his training attire.

"I love training!" the blond chirped.

Neji smirked. Even though this boy (Naruto) was a bit impulsive, he was beginning to like him. They made their way to the dojo where Naruto practically wiped the floor with Neji. After a couple of hours in there we find Naruto standing above the boy who was on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Why are you so strong?" asked the Hyuuga boy.

"I told you that I love training! I do it anytime I have the chance. Besides if we would have used chakra then I think our places would have now been switched since my chakra is just not suited for Juken other than for short bursts." chirped Naruto happy to be training with a boy his age for once.

"But still... I'm the older one. Why is there so much difference in our fates?" Neji looked away.

"Fates? What does that got to do with strength?" the blond asked confused.

A surprised Neji turned again to Naruto and began explaining "It has EVERYTHING to do with strength. It is decided from birth how much power and strength we have! Fate plays favorites, understand?" the boy snapped at Naruto who saw the same sadness and anger he saw in Yuki the first time they met. Meanwhile somebody was listening to their conversation just outside the door.

"We are destined from birth to follow the path fate drew for us and we can never escape! Never…" with that Neji turned and walked outside the dojo.

Naruto stood there in a sad thinking pose until the person listening entered the room.

"That boy has always been like that! Ever since he got the seal on his forehead he has stopped living for himself no matter how hard I tried to make him snap out of it! I'm afraid that one day he will let himself die just because he thinks that fate decided it for him." said Hizashi in a fatherly tone with concern etched on it.

Naruto then clenched his fists, bit his lip and ran after the boy. It took Naruto ten minutes to find the boy (using the Shinsougan) to find Neji practicing in the woods just outside the compound. Unknown to him, somebody else found the blond and began stalking him.

"Lower your hips a bit and relax your waist!" Naruto said to Neji who wasn't surprised by the blond thanks to the Byakugan.

"Thank you!" he responded emotionlessly.

A moment of silence was taken as Naruto looked at the boy who was still practicing.

"Listen Neji, I kn…" the blond didn't get to finish his question when he heard some leaves and twigs rustle. Both boys turned their heads to see a slightly inebriated Jounin. Naruto started backing up when he saw his face, trembling a little bit. Inside him Kurama growled like a raged beast.

(A/N: Creepy Orochimaru like laugh but with a lower, deeper tone)

"Kukuku, I thought I burned you alive, demon! I guess I was too soft on you. I will make sure not to repeat the mistake, Yondaime-sama's mistake, and kill you!"

It was the same man who burned Naruto at the stake about a year ago. The unnamed Jounin pulled out a kunai and threw it at Naruto.

By now Naruto got a little of Kurama's chakra that calmed him down and made him focus. Also it did help that the man insulted his father. Naruto activated his Shinsougan and Soujin Seishin.

The blond avoided the kunai and dashed to the woods but forgot to take his bands off so the said Jounin caught up with him easily and slashed out at Naruto with another kunai who avoided this time as well. The man was on the offensive while Naruto was on the defensive, jumping and avoiding the Jounin's attacks. The blond then took out a kunai of his own from the seal on his bands and began to exchange blow for blow with the inebriated shinobi who barely avoided a Juken strike to his arm and jumped back.

The man went through a few hand-signs but his senses picked up on movement behind him not reacting fast enough to avoid a palm strike full of chakra to the legs by Neji making him wobble.

"You brat!" he yelled and backhanded the boy who flew back hitting a tree and coughing blood. "For defending that _thing_, I will kill you and blame the demon!" he said as he threw a shuriken and doing a few hand-seals he shouted "Shuriken Kage Bunshin" (Shadow clone shuriken) and the shuriken that he threw became one hundred, all heading for him.

Neji accepted his 'fate' and closed his eyes waiting for the pain. He waited, and waited, and waited but it never came.

"Oi! Are you alright?" he heard Naruto calling for him.

Neji opened his eyes and saw the blond over him, with his clothes torn, his torso bare (except a few pieces of cloth here and there) and bleeding a lot. In his chest there were 7 shuriken that Naruto couldn't deflect that 'poofed' out of existence leaving seven holes.

"Why?" Neji cringed. "Why did you save me? It was MY fate to die not yours!" asked the Hyuuga clenching a fist full of bloody grass.

Naruto coughed some blood and answered smiling "Because I think of you as my friend and I will protect *cough* my friends!"

This made Neji's eyes as big as dinner plates.

Naruto then lowered his head so that the top half of his face was now darkened by shadow.

"Neji… I know what it's like having a mark that you did nothing to deserve or couldn't do anything about…"

"What are you talking abo…?" the Hyuuga boy was about to ask but saw the seal mark form on Naruto's stomach and his wounds fizzle out of existence while smoking.

"Neji, I know just how unfair life is! This guy that you see here is not the first or the last that came for me. There were many times when I cried myself to sleep cursing my fate…" Naruto continued "But…"

The blond then looked up to the boy with hardened eyes full with resolve. "If fate said that we must live a horrible life then screw it, I will change my fate no matter what and if fate can't be changed then at least I tried!"

"What I do understand is that it definitely won't change if I just sit on my ass and do nothing about it!" he said.

"And you know what? It worked!" he smirked and turned his fully healed body towards the Jounin who was bragging to nobody that he killed the demon, leaving an awe struck Neji,

Naruto dropped his weights and yelled at the Jounin. "Hey jackass, you are forgetting something!" This made the drunken ninja turn in surprise "But how? I killed you!" he growled.

"Not even close dumbass!" answered the blond. He then dashed towards the man at incredible speeds catching him off guard and delivering a Juken strike to his abdomen making him fall unconscious. "I won't die before I become Hokage!" he declared before falling face-first himself.

It was now evening when Neji managed to carry Naruto back to the compound. By now Hiashi and his wife Haruko were back from the hospital and were talking to Hizashi and Yukihime when the gate opened and they saw both children bloody with Naruto on Neji's back.

With a speed that would make the Hiraishin jealous they got to the children's side and Hiashi picked up Naruto who had just woken up and Neji was greeted by his father.

"What happened? Did I win?" asked Naruto.

"That's what we would like to know!" said the adults in unison.

Neji then told the adults the story. Hiashi sent a branch member to report to the Hokage about this incident.

"So I won! Yatta!" the blond started bouncing up and down earning him smiles from the rest of the group after they checked his health and found nothing wrong, even with the Byakugan.

Neji then pulled his father to the side. "He is a definitely a fool to fight his fate like that!" the boy said with a smile. His father smiled and told him everything about Kurama and the boy's early life, about how he was tortured and hated. Then he told his son about how he never gave up and changed not only his fate but also Hinata's, Haruko's, Hanabi's and even his (Hizashi) own fate. "Neji, this boy may be a fool but he is definitely something else, don't you think?"

Neji then nodded and answered "Tou-san (father), do you think I could be a fool like him?"

Hiashi broke into a laugh saying "Why not. You can be a fool if you want. After all you are my genius son!"

*End flashback*

"Hey Neji!" the blond yelled.

"Hello Naruto-sama!" the boy answered with a smile.

"How many times have I told you to leave out the 'sama'?" asked Naruto rhetorically

"163 times if you count this one." Neji answered with a slight smirk.

"Then why do you do it?" the blond asked, already exasperated.

"Well it is only proper to show the future Hokage respect!" he answered with a bit of sarcasm.

Naruto sighed and said "Never mind, I'm too tired to try right now. How is Haruko-san doing? She had my clone dispel a while ago when she left for the hospital."

"Haruko-sama is still away and Hiashi-sama is at a Konoha council meeting. Do you want to train with me?" Neji answered.

"Not today. I want to hit the bed early since tomorrow is Hiashi-sama told me he has something planned out for me." the blond sighed.

"I take it you are not looking forward to it?" the boy chuckled a bit.

Naruto looked at him but closed his eyes and smiled a little in approval. He then continued on to the main house (and his room) which was at the end of the house complex in the compound.

On the way he met many branch members who smiled and even bowed to him. He also had to face a few who ignored him and a couple who even cringed at the sight of the boy but they were by far outnumbered by the ones who were on the blond's side.

*Semi-flashback*

Naruto had earned the respect and kindness of the Hyuuga when he did not differentiate between the main house members and the branch families. Whenever he was not training, sleeping, eating or getting some private stuff (he had put the privacy seal 'Tomb of Secrets' to good use since it even stopped the Byakugan from peeking when he took a bath or a dump) he would help the house with any and every chore they could find from cooking to laundry.

Having the ability to create hundreds of clones came in handy for this and they were a blessing for the cooks, gardeners, laundry women and so on who, after teaching him a bit or just supervising him, took a liking to him and even saw Naruto as a son or pupil.

He even helped heal and trained with most shinobi branch members when they returned from their missions, teaching them a little of the main house style. He consulted with Hiashi if he was allowed to do this and the man told him with a smile and a matter-of-factly face (face pointed upwards and eyes closed) that "Since you are not a family member, you have the right to do as you please. Since I am a member of the main house, even if I wished I could, clan rules would forbid me to do so."

Naruto immediately understood what he meant. Look underneath the underneath saying that was taught to him by the man.

It meant that Hiashi was practically asking the boy to do that since, even though he wanted to, he couldn't because of the clan rules.

This made the branch families love him even more and when Naruto gave them the translation to Hiashi's words under oaths of secrecy, the rift between the clan divisions (main and branch) began to close, if only just a bit and the branch members to respect Hiashi not only out of fear.

*SFB end*

At the council meeting the room was split between the civilian part and the majority of the shinobi council. Hiruzen was rubbing his temples for the past ten minutes. Word had gotten out that Naruto was staying at the Hyuuga compound and this provided the spark to light the forest fire.

"Hyuuga-sama, how could you take that monster in?" one white haired civilian councilor practically screamed.

"Haruno-san is right Hyuuga-sama! That brat needs no home or even care for that matter!" another member voiced his opinion.

"That's right! That trash should just burn!" one more councilor could not keep it in.

Hiashi in the meantime was counting back from 100 for the third time by now to keep his cool image. He was thankful to Kami that his wife was still too ill to attend the meetings otherwise it would have been a bloodbath. He prayed that the Hokage would intervene to shut them up while he tried to listen to their words.

"Indeed Hiashi-san, why did you take that boy in when you said that he would be hated in the clan compound?" asked the mummy-man Danzo causing the rest of the voices to die out.

For once he was thankful to Danzo for creating an opening in the so called 'conversation'. The mummy did it of course for other reasons as he heard of Naruto learning the Juken but could not get any other intel passed Sarutobi so the boy and his abilities was a secret to him. Being that Naruto was inside, or close to the Hyuuga compound he could not sneak any of his Root members to spy on the blond without alerting the Kage of his activities as the Byakugan saw through any of his Genjutsu.

Hiashi answered "As you may have heard, Uzumaki-san saved my daughter from kidnap and possibly a life of forced breeding and doing so he also saved my clan's honor and Konoha's exclusive Doujutsu. As for the second part of your questions Shimura-san, it appears that it was a hasty decision as most of my clan seems to be on the boy's side." Hiashi ended his statement with a mental smirk.

Danzo hadn't expected this. He thought that he could force Hiashi into a corner and get the Kyuubi for himself but now he had no hand to play so he decided to bluff.

"But surely the boy doesn't feel that his place belongs there and there are those who look down on him." the war hawk asked more than stated.

(A\N: I am not going to describe people that appear in the original since I suck at it anyway. Just web-search for them)

"True but they are in minority and if there was a problem with that then Hokage-sama would have taken the boy as his stay was approved by Hokage-sama." Hiashi checkmated Danzo with his answer and then continued "Besides, he is much safer in my clan's compound than practically anywhere else, both from the village and from other shinobi."

"That would be logical." an apparently emotionless Shibi Aburame answered. "It is the best place to keep the boy from harm as nobody can sneak into the compound." He continued while shooting a glance at Danzo through his glasses.

"I agree with Hiashi and Shibi my clan's members have not smelled any of his blood for the past year." Tsume Inuzuka backed him up.

"It has been a little bit more quiet in the T&I department since people stopped going after Uzumaki-kun!" smirked Inoichi Yamanaka.

"And the boy deserves all the help he gets!" commented the gentile giant Chouza Akimichi.

"Hiding in plain sight, good strategy!" Shikaku Nara added his two cents.

"I don't think it is such a good idea!" commented Fugaku Uchiha getting glances from the rest of the shinobi clans.

"And why is that Fugaku?" the Hokage decided to intervene.

"Because Hokage-sama, we all know what the boy contains and if he manages to control it (at this Hiruzen gave a mental smirk) he would upset the power balance of the clans!" the Uchiha head answered.

"And yet it is no secret that the boy wishes to become Hokage and protect the whole village of Konoha and also there is the fact that a clan who is focused on a taijutsu style that relies on a doujutsu that the boy could never obtain that could not be taught to the boy took him in.

Besides from your words, it would sound that you have faith that Naruto would achieve such a feat." Sarutobi answered with another mental smirk.

"If it seemed that way then I stand corrected. However that does not change the possibility. He must not be allow…" before he could finished the Hokage interrupted him.

"If that does indeed happen I would recommend that you start becoming something that he sees as an ally rather than demanding something that you surely know that I will refuse since it was the perfect answer to the meeting we had when the boy was born!" Hiruzen 'growled' at the Sharingan user making Hiashi mentally make a victory fist-pump while keeping his ice-cold appearance.

"That goes for the rest of you!" the Hokage shouted out at the rest.

They all got into thinking positions after which Hiruzen finally declared the meeting over.

Meanwhile with Naruto…

The blond decided to make his way to the park to relax himself a little. He loved coming here with Haruko, Hinata and Hiashi (when he was free) and enjoyed the view of children having fun with their parents. If not he was a bit jealous of the kids that had parents. Now Naruto was no ingrate and he was thankful to whatever star and Kami that led him to meet the Hyuugas but put yourselves in his shoes. He was still a six year old boy who wondered what his life would have been if his parents were alive.

On his way there he was using his Shinsougan as chakra control training to get an idea about how far he could see with as little chakra as possible.

He then noticed a sudden increase in temperature (forgot about this one didn't you?) above the lake near the Uchiha compound. He then ran a bit to the lake and from his high position on the small hill that was a few feet away from the body if water, he could see a boy dressed in a blue shirt and white pants that had a duck-but hairstyle that made Naruto snicker trying to hold his laugh. The Uchiha was going over some seals and screaming "Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!" (Fire style: Great Fireball) and breathe out a stream of fire twice as big as him.

Naruto took a moment to activate Soujin Seishin to observe the jutsu a second time and watch the flow of chakra. He noticed that while the boy got the manipulation down he just didn't mix enough with his exhaled air. In simple terms that means he was trying to do the jutsu faster than he got the chakra.

The blond jumped to the duck-but and walked his way there. When he got close enough he heard the boy saying "Shikusho (Dammit), why isn't it working?"

"You're being too hasty! Breathe in and let the chakra mix with the air for a little while before exhaling!" Naruto answered.

The Uchiha turned to the Kyuubi host and gave a questioning look. "Who are you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Normally it is polite to give your name first before asking for other people's names." Naruto answered matter-of-factly.

"Sorry. I am Sasuke Uchiha!" he said a little bit dejected.

"No problem! My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" the blond answered.

"Your name is Fishcake?" Sasuke asked.

"Actually its maelstrom!" he answered with a tick mark above his eye.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked with a cute tilted face.

"A kind of whirlpool but more powerful." Naruto answered with a smile.

"Oh. And what are you doing here Naruto-san?" the duck-but got curious.

"Well I was just out for a walk and I saw you struggling to do that jutsu and thought you might need help." the blond answered with a finger to his chin.

"What do you know about jutsu? You can't be any older than me." asked Sasuke.

"Well I know a couple of jutsu but despite that I have been doing chakra control exercises for over a year now. Don't ask! Just hear me out, let the chakra mix with the air for a little while before exhaling!"

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow but nonetheless did as Naruto instructed, made the hand-seals and filled his lungs with chakra and air making him look like a pigeon in mating season.

He then mentally yelled the jutsu's name and exhaled making a fireball the size of a house.

He stayed in awe for a couple of seconds and turned to Naruto who smiled back.

Sasuke then stretched out his hand looking to the side and getting a little red above the nose in embarrassment said "Thanks!"

Naruto looked a little curious at first but then flashed his foxy smile and grabbed his arm and shook it.

When the blond returned to the compound both Haruko and Hiashi were home and were enjoying a moment of family time with their two daughters. They were sitting on the porch of the main house while Hinata was playing with the two year old bundle of energy called Hanabi.

"Nii-chan, you're home!" said Hanabi and started running towards Naruto. He remembered how he had to hide for two days from Hiashi when Hanabi said her first words.

*Flashback*

It was a sunny late afternoon and Naruto was training in the Juken katas without his clones. He decided to take it easy with his workout today since he had to babysit Hanabi for the day while Hiashi and Haruko were gone on official clan business.

He left a clone to watch over her but continued to remain close just in case.

An hour later the clan head and his wife returned and found the blond practicing his form. The married couple looked at him with 'you-left-my-daughter-alone' looks but then saw another Naruto playing with the toddler and let out a sigh in relief.

"Lower your hips a bit and relax your waist!" ordered a smiling Hiashi (The exact same thing that Naruto told Neji)

The boy stopped immediately and looked at the smiling couple.

"Thank you Hiashi-sensei!" he answered with a serious but calm expression. This made Haruko put a hand to her smiling mouth and say "Ara (what's this?/oh my!), ara, Hiashi-sensei?" looking at her husband who jumped a little and blushed.

They all then went to Hanabi's side with Naruto dispelling the clone. The toddler was in her play pen when Hiashi bent towards her and picked her up. She smiled and giggled when her father started cuddling her.

Seeing this Naruto thought of returning to his training and began walking back.

Hanabi saw this and began getting restless and gurgling some baby sounds while stretching her arms towards the blond.

"What is it sweetheart? You don't want Naruto-nii-chan to leave?" Haruko started to caress her daughter's hair.

Hanabi got more agitated with each step that the boy took until finally she managed to speak.

"Nii, nii! *Buu..*(baby talk) Nauo-nii!"

Naruto froze and then turned around. Haruko and Hiashi had eyes the size of saucers. Naruto slowly walked towards the girl and picked her up getting more 'Nii, nii!' and giggles.

It took all his resolve not to cry tears of joy until he felt a chill running down his spine.

He then looked towards Hiashi who was smiling but the background was that of a thunder storm.

"Naruto-kun… I'm going to kill you!" Hiashi said still smiling. He secretly hoped that he would be the object of his daughter's first words just like what happened with Hinata, but now his dreams were shattered by Naruto. This prompted the boy to start running, but not before leaving a clone to calm Hanabi. It took two days for Haruko to 'calm' her husband down since that's how much Hiashi chased Naruto before returning home.

*End Flashback*

In the meantime, Hanabi was running wobbly to Naruto when she tripped and was heading face first towards the ground. The blond then Shunshined and caught her a few inches above the ground making the toddler giggle. Naruto would seriously have to thank that root member who used the technique to get away when he approached the agent. That didn't mean that Naruto still took three days to practice it with 100 clones until he got it right. (Remember that the Shinsougan is not like the cheating eye Sharingan. Naruto still has to practice his techniques to be able to do them.)

Hiashi then motioned for the boy to approach.

"How is your training going recently?" the man asked with a calm but not cold expression.

"It is the same as it has been for three weeks now Hiashi-sama. My chakra control is perfect. I have mastered all the forms and advanced moves of the Juken including Kaiten (Rotation), Kūshō (Vacuum palm) and Jūho Sōshiken (Gentile step: Twin lion fists) and the three academy jutsu besides the secret ones." Then the boy sighed. "If only I could stop the seal from leaking chakra constantly then I could use them in battle but right now it would just either be wasted chakra or it could damage my hands!" the boy spoke.

"I see." Hiashi stood silent for a moment. "Well I was planning on testing you tomorrow to see if I can declare you a Juken master but seeing this I think it will have to wait." the man said making the boy look sad. Hiashi noticed this and continued. "Don't let it get to you! You are too young to be saddened by this! Take this as an opportunity to get some experience in life and prepare to for the title of Grand Master! Only one with perfect form, perfect chakra control and at least ten years of experience can claim the title. You may have the first two requirements down but you can't rush the third." he said making the boy look up with a curious expression. Who could blame him? Very few knew about the Juken Grand Master title. In fact there was only one per generation who could claim that title and the current one was Hiashi.

Naruto looked up with determination shining in his eyes and nodded.

'I see you look forward to take my title already.' Hiashi chuckled. "Who knows, perhaps by that time your chakra would have stabilized but until then I suggest you create your own form more suitable for your needs. If you need any help, come to me and I will do whatever I can" he continued and Naruto nodded and wanted to go back to playing with Hanabi and Hinata but was stopped by Hiashi.

"Naruto-kun, in three months Haruko and I will be going to the Hi no Kuni (Fire country) capital to check on her health since the doctors here say that she is almost fully healed so we want to check at the country's main hospital."

"That's great! Glad to hear that Haruko-san!" Naruto answered Hiashi and then turned to his wife.

"Why thank you dear, but Hiashi and I were wondering if you would like to join us with Hinata and Hanabi. We already talked to Hokage-sama and he agreed!" Haruko smiled.

Naruto looked a little surprised at her words but immediately nodded.

"Perfect!" Haruko said.

"Well Naruto I would like to…" Hiashi's words were interrupted by a branch member.

"Hiashi-sama, the family council would like to see you and Naruto-sama!" he said in a grave tone and looking at the boy with worry.

Hiashi was a man known for his calm mind but even he couldn't stop thinking 'Not this shit again!' and answered "I see! Thank you Kaoru!" he said receiving a worried look from his wife. He reassured her with a nod and then turned his gaze to Naruto who understood and followed.

In the council chambers…

Hiashi entered the room followed by Naruto. They saw the council men and women sitting seiza style around a low, round table with two spots vacant between them, one distinctively smaller than the other one.

Hiashi proceeded to occupy the smaller one while Naruto took the other one.

After a few moments one elder broke the silence.

"Hiashi-sama, we have requested your presence here today because we consider that there have been grave violations of our family's traditions and regulations, all concerning the boy." the old fart claimed shooting a disturbing glance at Naruto.

Hiashi kept his eyes closed and thought 'Oh boy, here it comes!', answering "I see! I suppose that you have analyzed the problems and have proof supporting these accusations." he answered finally opening his eyes.

"We do. For the past time Uzumaki-kun spent here we have acknowledged the fact that you were to teach him the main house Juken style, but… we did not approve of the fact that he may teach the style to the branch members of our clan." the old fart said with a sneer directed at the boy, an action copied by the other white-eyed geezers.

"I see!" Hiashi answered again shooting a reassuring gaze at Naruto. Not that the boy needed mind you. The boy had a rock solid determined look stuck to his face, the result of training under Hiashi with Hinata, of the love he received from Haruko and Hanabi and his own personality. "Then what do you propose?" he said curious to find out a little about the council's thoughts.

"We propose that Uzumaki-kun be branded with the seal to keep this from happening!" they all but snickered making Naruto squint his eyes in a 'try-it-assholes!' glare.

Hiashi then moved his head back a little and for the third time since the council started he answered "I see!". He then looked to his right and then to his left and continued.

"Then I have no choice…" the geezers started smirking "…then to DENY your requests!". This made the council pale.

"But Hiashi-sama he..!" one old fart tried to protest.

"Naruto-kun has done nothing wrong! I know the family rules by heart and there were no rules about teaching non-clan members the head-family Juken style, nor did it stipulate that they cannot be taught by one. I find your accusations baseless and so I dismiss them and forward an apology to Naruto-kun!" he answered making the council cringe. They had been checkmated again.

"I accept the apology Hiashi-sama and bare no ill thought to the council!" the boy claimed with a stoic appearance.

Hiashi nodded and continued "If there are no more concerns then I would call this meeting adjourned!"

"There is one more matter Hiashi-sama!" another councilor stated.

Hiashi turned his gaze at the old prune.

"We have to talk about what age will Hanabi be branded to the branch house!" he commented.

Hiashi was thrown in thought but moments later he snapped back to reality when he felt an enormous killer intent flooding the room making it hard to breath for even the Hyuuga head.

The whole council turned to the source of the monstrous KI. Naruto was standing there smiling but was leaking a enough anger that a fly that had sneaked into the room fell dead as soon as it came within a foot's distance from the blond.

Naruto then proceeded to talk while keeping his eyes closed "Honored council, I am sorry for rudely interrupting the session but I have to tell you something you should know!"

"Touch even one hair on Hinata-chan or Hanabi-chan's head and there will be hell to pay!" Naruto opened his eyes to reveal a burning red with slit pupils and releasing a fraction of Kurama's KI together with his own with a demonic fox eye and half a face appeared behind the boy.(Think Valley of the End after Sasuke chidori-ed Naruto in the chest)

The sight of Naruto's eyes and the feeling given off by the blond made the council jump and say "Kyuubi!" in unison. This made the boy smile.

"Who do you think you are Demon?" yelled one member.

"We should kill you for your insolence right now!" barked another.

"This is our family's law and we will follow it!" declared one more prune.

"That's right!" continued three more.

By now only Aoi was keeping his composure. Over time he came to view Naruto like a grandson and didn't like what was happening in the meeting until the moment the KI was unleashed. He was now doing his best to pay attention even if every bone in his old body told him to run away.

"Naruto-kun, this is a family mater so please stay out of this!" said Hiashi in a non-convincing tone. Naruto understood immediately that he was practically asking the boy to continue. Naruto then dropped the KI and bowed.

"I am deeply sorry for my outburst Hiashi-sama! I will stay out of family matters!" he said with full seriousness but when he lifted his head he flashed a grin.

"But as a citizen of Konoha I cannot stay out of legal affairs!" he continued making the council even more worried.

"The honored members of the Hyuuga council are hereby accused of breaking Sandaime-sama's law concerning the Kyuubi no Yoko which only I, Hokage-sama and people we permit are allowed to talk about!" the boy declared while holding a recording tag he saw a root member create while looking at him with his Ranpu techniques, making Hiashi's eyes widen in surprise but gave a mental smirk.

The Hyuuga head took the hint. "But Naruto-kun, that law is punishable by death! Should the law be acted upon it would not only spell the death of all council members except Aoi but it would also bring great shame upon our name!" he continued faking concern.

"Indeed Hiashi-sama, but the honored council has so vehemently declared that they must follow every law there is, family or otherwise! I am just following their example." he continued in a matter-of –factly way. "Now if the council showed me otherwise, I would reconsider my actions!" the boy said looking at the old farts.

They were white as paper and looked like they lost a few years of their already short remaining life. One of them then recovered his composure and snapped at the blond.

"Are you threatening us de… Uzumaki…san?"

The boy adorned an evil smile that would make the old Kurama proud. There was no need for an answer. He got them by the balls and they knew it.

"Very well… we will give you 'an example' by not touching Hinata or Hanabi with any sealing intention!" one of them said.

"Not good enough!" Naruto claimed.

"Whaa…?" another councilor wanted to ask but was interrupted by the boy.

"I will be frank…" Naruto then slammed his hand on the floor and a confidentiality seal (Tomb of Secrets) appeared that stuck to the different surfaces of the room. He practiced it with so many clones that he could now do it without hand-seals and seals seemed easy to him even if he knew only three. "… the sealing will stop now, one way or another!"

"How dare you? You have no right to call for such a thing!" one female member growled at the boy. They could not touch him since not only Hiashi protected him but he was already a Juken master in all but name, not to mention they were scared out of their socks since Hiashi told them that if the host dies the Kyuubi reforms after some time, right where the host was killed.

"If the Sandaime-jii-san's law is acted upon it would spell the end of the council and you all know that Hiashi-sama and Haruko-san are against the branding, only agreeing to do so to keep harmony inside the main family, so, like I said one way or another .HERE! You may keep the events that took place here secret, but this tag goes straight to the Hokage if I see one more seal on another forehead that was not there before or if I hear that it was used one more time! " he smiled letting out not KI but shear power that made the old prunes feel like they were in the path of a force 7 hurricane. (A/N _Most modern scales go up to 5_)

Naruto then lifted the confidentiality seal and walked out the room leaving the council scared shitless.

Hiashi had wide eyes in surprise at the turn of events but inwardly he was laughing his ass off.

Later that night Hiashi told Haruko what had happened in full detail.

"Ara, ara did Naru-kun did all that? Won't he be in danger now?" she said with concern in her voice

Hiashi chuckled a bit "Not really! I will keep those old has-beens off his back!" he said reassuring her. Even though she was now almost healthy, he still tried to keep her away from stress.

"But won't he be in danger if the council sends someone for him?" she asked.

"Well most clan members are willing to die for him already since they see him as part of their families and I will keep an eye on those who don't, and they won't try to do anything to him inside the compound since they know about Kurama's revival and I don't think they want to deal with a pissed-off Bijuu on clan grounds. Actually I think that last part will make them protect the boy." Hiashi chuckled again and was imitated by his wife.

"Yes you are right. Naruto is safe and sound while he stays close to the compound and outside he is either watched by ANBU or can take care of himself with his father's jutsu as well as his own." she said snuggling against her husband who embraced her.

"Really that boy turned my life upside down, but all for the better. He has the guts to do what I always wished for and more. I swear I would adopt him if I could but I must still follow _some_ rules!". The way Hiashi said 'some' made Haruko giggle but a 1000 watt light bulb appeared over her head.

"You know honey… there is another way for the boy to join the family!" she giggled.

Hiashi made a curious face and looked at her in silence.

"We have a daughter his age and we have to find her a husband… that is if she does not choose one herself…" Haruko continued smiling.

It took a few seconds for Hiashi to connect the dots, and while he was known for his cool head and calm demeanor he was still a father first and his reaction was only fitting.

He jumped out of the bed anime style instantly getting up to his feet, with his back turned. He was dancing a rain dance saying "No! No! NO! I will not have my baby leave me! The moment she brings a boy, even Naruto-kun I will…"

"Honey!" Haruko stated in a calm sweet voice but with a graver tone.

Hiashi froze in place and turned around slowly, instantly turning blue at the sight of his wife.

Haruko was smiling and looking sweet but behind her the background was black and an evil demonic figure was outlined in red with red eyes.

(A\N: _Imagine what you want but personally I see a woman the same build as Haruko but with clawed hands and her hair going all over the place_)

"You will do what honey?" she continued to ask in the deceptively sweet tone with the figure behind opening her mouth in a fanged smile and growing bigger while the claws were getting closer to Hiashi's neck.

"I … I will stand aside and be happy for my baby!" Hiashi answered breaking into a cold sweat.

The figure retracted and the background changed to flowers.

"I knew it dear!" Haruko smiled again with the figure peeking from behind her head.

(A\N _Haha! Hiashi got pussy whipped!_)


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4 Time for some author notes:

I would like to say that I am going to use my rights as fanfic author and canceling the second question of the poll since I am going to use Hanabi as a 'sister'.

I know I suck at Japanese. I am using the freedict online dictionary to translate so have mercy, I'm doing my best!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto related stuff and characters!

Previously on _Naruto of the Shinsougan_

"Really that boy turned my life upside down, but all for the better. He has the guts to do what I always wished for and more. I swear I would adopt him if I could but I must still follow _some_ rules!". The way Hiashi said 'some' made Haruko giggle but a 1000 watt light bulb appeared over her head.

"You know honey… there is another way for the boy to join the family!" she giggled.

[…]

"No! No! NO! I will not have my baby leave me! The moment she brings a boy, even Naruto-kun I will…"

"Honey!" Haruko stated in a calm sweet voice but with a graver tone.

[…]

"I … I will stand aside and be happy for my baby!" Hiashi answered breaking into a cold sweat.

"I knew it dear!" Haruko smiled again with the figure peeking from behind her head.

Main story:

It had been a month since Naruto had faced the council and changed the future for any Hyuuga clan member. He was now walking towards the shinobi library with a paper slip in his hands accompanied by Hizashi and two other branch family members. He could still feel the cold hard glares that most of the villagers were giving him.

Of course the fact that those glares were met back by Byakugan enhanced eyes did help. The Hyuuga guards near the boy did justice to their reputation as masters of emotional control since inside they felt like Juken spanking everyone who dared even think bad about their hero.

Yes, HERO! The use of the forehead seal stopped and word got out of who was to 'blame' for this. Well anyone with half a brain could figure it out. The branch members were now practically worshiping the ground where the boy walked much to his own displeasure.

He didn't want to be worshiped or even thanked for his actions. He did it out of love for his 'adoptive' family and the fact that they were happy and safe was all that he needed. Living with nobody to care for you and to care for nearly five and a half years made him thankful for the little that he got. Of course that didn't mean that he didn't dream for greatness, but he also understood that nothing came without sacrifice and hard work. He didn't let the 'worship' get to his head although he did like the fact that he could walk the streets without fear of being mauled at every corner. And all he had to do is bluff the council. That's right, I said bluff.

*Flashback, two days after the Hyuuga council*

Hiruzen was sitting in his office chair looking out the window while two Kage Bunshin were signing and sorting the paperwork. Ever since Naruto pointed out this method he could enjoy the little things in life like watching the sunset, drinking his coffee and reading his Icha Icha book (much to the displeasure of his female ANBU guards) while giggling like a perverted school girl. But today he was in too deep a thought to consider anything like that.

A knock on his door broke the silence and lifted him out of his thoughts.

"Come in!" approved the Kage.

The doors opened slowly and the figure of a man gracefully entered followed by a small child.

"You summoned us Lord Hokage?" the man asked.

"Indeed Hiashi, please both of you have a seat!" smiled the man pointing to the couch.

Hiashi complied and was soon followed by the preteen.

"Hiashi, I heard some wonderful news coming from one of your clansmen and I called you here to confirm or negate them." The old man paused and looked at the Hyuuga head who was now smirking. "Is it true that your family council finally gave you full power concerning the sealing process of your clan's branch members as you desired for a long time?" Sarutobi was wearing his serious face but slipped a smile in between his words.

"No! I'm afraid not Hokage-sama!" answered Hiashi making the old man frown in sadness. Hiashi then smirked again and continued. "The council lost nearly all its political power, the sealing included!"

This nearly gave Hiruzen a heart attack. "Really? How did you accomplish that? Hiashi you have to tell me!" the Kage prayed that Hiashi would answer his pleas since maybe it could help him with his village council.

"I didn't do anything lord Hokage!" answered Hiashi cryptically making Sarutobi frown. It seemed to the old man that the Hyuuga wanted this to be kept secret much to his chagrin. Hiashi saw the Kage's reaction and continued after mentally smiling evilly. "Truth be told, all credit goes to this little bottomless pit of surprises … _and eating_" he answered, whispering the last part.

Hiruzen sweat-dropped as he never expected that the mighty Hyuuga councilors would bow down to the workings of a child, but then the old man remembered who this was and that the unexpected should be expected when coming from the boy.

"Really?" he asked again. "Naruto how did you manage to make it happen?" the Kage questioned the boy with large eyes.

"Well ... I'm … not supposed to tell!" the boy answered sheepishly glancing to the shadows in the corners.

Hiruzen got the point and waved his hand. As soon as he did that, two poofs came from the said corners. The boy then activated his Shinsougan and looked all over the room for a couple of seconds making sure that there were no connections to the outside world. He then deactivated the jutsu and took a deep breath.

Sarutobi waited nervously while the boy checked the area. He knew about the jutsu and truth be told he wanted his office checked for bugs. When Naruto finished and inhaled he hoped that the boy would start talking but first of all he had a different surprise when from the boy's feet shot seal arms that covered the walls and the doors. The Kage recognized the seal as the one he showed the boy unwillingly and was absolutely amazed that he did it seal-less as this jutsu required more than twenty hand-seals.

"Naruto, how did you do that?" the Hokage blinked.

"I saw it from you Hokage-jijii!" the boy chirped the answer.

"No, I mean how did you do it without hand-seals?" Hiruzen asked again.

"What are those?" the boy asked causing both men to face fault into the floor.

"Hand-seals are those positions of the hands to make jutsu, like these" Hiruzen proceeded to show the boy the Kage Bunshin seal as well as Tiger, Ox and Ram.

"WHAT? They make jutsu work? I thought that they were cool poses. I never did them seriously! I don't even use it for the Kage Bunshin anymore. I just make my chakra move like I see it in the people that do jutsu though it usually takes me about a week in general before I can use them properly using Shadow Clone."

The boy's words made the men facepalm themselves while thinking. 'Kami! If he does jutsu without hand-seals like that, I don't even want to think about this kid's talent!"

"Umm… no Naruto, they make jutsu work more easily but every shinobi wants to do jutsu seal-less and most do with years of practice." the professor answered.

"So making them seal-less is better?" the blond asked.

Both men nodded making him smile.

"Listen, come back here in a month. I will have a permit for you to use the shinobi library! I would give it to you now but the council would eat me alive." The Hokage told Naruto then looked at Hiashi who nodded.

"Okay Hokage-jjii!" the boy smiled a half toothy smile (His baby teeth are still being replaced)

"Good, now tell me how you managed to convince the Hyuuga council!" the old man asked.

The boy looked at Hiashi who smiled and nodded. He then turned to the Hokage and told him the whole story.

After listening to the story the Hiruzen pondered a bit but then, after realizing that Naruto is now safer than ever, he popped a laugh that made both the blond and Hiashi smile.

"I can't believe that you did that!" said the old man. "You really took them for a ride!"

"Yeah, I can't believe how scared they were! I mean Kurama-nii-san trained me to fight KI and I didn't even give out a small part of his and they almost passed out. And you should see their face when I showed them a recording tag that doesn't work." He said laughing but caused the men to freeze in their places.

"What do you mean it doesn't work?" asked Hiashi worryingly.

Naruto took out the tag and gave it to Hiruzen. After the man examined the tag he broke into a laugh again.

"What is it Hokage-sama?" Hiashi was getting restless.

Hiruzen stopped laughing and passed the slip to the Hyuuga man who after looking at it, put his hand to his forehead.

"See what I mean Hiashi? That tag is a little better than a baby's scribbles when drawing." smiled the Hokage. "But that doesn't mean it didn't do its job as an intimidation device. That reminds me Naruto, where did you learn how to make that tag and to use it in such a manor?"

"Oh, the tag I learned from a ninja that had the kanji 'NE' (root) on his hitai-ate (forehead protector). He tried to stick it on me but I saw him with my Shinsougan and then asked a branch member to what this tag was. He then said it's a recording seal and can tell you what you talked about in the past and showed me how it works. He asked me where I got it. I told him and then he looked very angry and burned the first one and told me to stay away from those ninja with 'Ne'. Then I tried to make my own from what I remembered but it just didn't seem to work for me!"

Hiashi and Sarutobi cringed and tightened their fists "That branch member was right Naruto! You must stay away from them! They are shinobi that work for a very bad man!" Hiashi told the boy.

"Okay!" the boy answered. Even though he was curious he decided not to ask when he saw the angry looks on the men's faces.

"You still didn't tell me where you learned to intimidate people like that." the Hokage told the boy.

"Oh, that I learned by watching the scary Oji-san (Uncle, old man) and Onee-chan (sister) who live in the basement of the big building that looks like a hospital that had a sign on the wall that says 'Konoha's Intelligence Division'." chirped the boy.

The men felt their hearts rush out their chests and beat the fuck out of them. They prayed that the people who Naruto watched were simple paper pushers with a little too much talent.

"Naruto, can you describe the two?" asked Sarutobi.

"Yup! Oji-san looks really scary, wears his headband all over his head and also has two scars on his face!" said the boy with a finger on his chin and looking up.

'Oh no!' thought both men.

"Onee-san has purple hair and is very pretty but she dresses like those girls in Hokage-jijii's book but has a white snake that is scary but very nice!" Naruto finished with a smile.

'Oh boy!' mentally sighed the grownups.

The Hokage then reached for the buzzer and addressed the secretary "Send for Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi!"

The interphone buzzed back "Yes sir!"

Ten minutes later both torture and interrogation specialists entered causing an immediate reaction in the boy.

"It's them! The scary Oji-san and Onee-san!" Naruto pointed in surprise.

Anko then burst into laughter. "Bwohahahaha! Oji-san?" she directed at Ibiki who's right eyebrow was now twitching at the woman and the blond. Anko laughed for five more seconds until a light switch clicked in her mind.

"Gaki, have we met somewhere?" she said with a wide grin that sent shivers down the men's spine but the boy looked unfazed and was smiling with all his might.

"Hokage-jijii it's really her! Onee-san is hebi-chan (snake with a cute suffix) with you?" he asked making the woman look dumbfound.

"What hebi-chan?" she asked keeping the same look.

"White hebi-chan that stays with you sometimes when you scare the traitors in the basement of the hospital-like building!" he said.

"Oh, you mean Miki-chan and… WAIT A MINUTE! How do you know about Miki-chan?" she asked looking even more confused. The men were no different.

"Well I play with her sometimes when I'm not scaring the traitors that give you problems. Can I come and see Miki-chan? Please! Please! Please! Please! Please…"

"Alright just stop nagging!" she yelled and bit her thumb doing a 'Kuchiose no Jutsu!'. Out of a summoning circle came a white cobra with sapphire blue eyes that was as big as Anko and as thick as an arm. It hissed and looked around the room finding Naruto. It hissed in surprise (with an equal look).

"Miki-chan!" Naruto chirped and started jogging to the snake.

The snake then took on a devious look and dashed towards the boy. Seeing this, the Hokage was about to jump to protect Naruto but was too late and the snake collided and coiled around the boy making him tumble two times. When they recovered they found a giggling Naruto with the snake rubbing the top of its head on the boy's right cheek with a smiling face looking very contempt.

"Ha-ha! Stop that Miki-chan! That tickles!" the boy was struggling to get the snake of him.

The adults in the room had their jaws wiping the floor with a crow 'singing' in the background. Ibiki quickly composed himself and then turned to Anko.

"Ahem, Anko… am I seeing correctly? Is Miki-chan … the summon you trained for scaring interrogation vict... prisoners… cuddling and playing with a little child?" he said with a little sweat forming on his face.

Anko just nodded and came to the happy duo and separated them. She then looked directly into Naruto's eyes and asked.

"Alright gaki, talk! When did you get buddy-buddy with my snake?" she asked with a scary but not dangerous expression.

Naruto continued smiling "Well, I first met Miki-chan a three weeks ago when I snuck into the hospital-like building! I found her scarring a man who attacked me on my birthday who was tied to a chair. She found me out when I tripped on her tail and bit me. When that happened, the ninja who was on the chair got up and Miki-chan attacked the shinobi. The ninja then grabbed Miki-chan and threw her into a desk and made the sharp things that were on it fall towards her who was still dizzy. I jumped and saved her after that I knocked him out… again. I met with her a few more times and we became friends." the boy finished with a sigh and a toothy smile.

Anko then got beady eyes and asked "Let me understand gaki! You snuck inside the Torture and Interrogation Department, which is probably the most secure place in Konoha, more than once, you stopped a breakout attempt, got bit by one of my most poisonous snakes and not only lived but you became friends?"

"Yup, if that basement is called that!" Naruto chirped.

It was Ibiki's turn to ask the questions. He approached until he shadowed the boy and grabbed him by the back of his orange silk robe and lifted him into the air. Looking straight into the blond's eyes he started to talk\shout (not quite shouting but still louder than talking).

"Gaki, tell me how you got inside my basement, NOW!" Before the boy could answer, the snake opened its hood and got up between the two looking directly at Ibiki's face with very angry eyes, an open mouth and hissed (from 4 inches away). "Umm… please?" completed the man closing his eyes and smiling while sweating a little. Miki then receded into a coiling position looking at the two.

Naruto smirked his patented foxy expression "Like this!"

The boy's outline started glowing dim white and then he slowly became transparent until finally he became invisible.

Hiruzen got up from his seat and began searching for the boy. Hiashi activated his Byakugan and started looking around like the other adults were. Even Miki was surprised and began searching for her friend but they just couldn't find him. They even tried looking for his chakra signature but still no luck.

"Naruto?" the aged Kage called out.

After a couple of seconds the man received his answer "Here!" , Naruto slowly phasing back to normal view high up on the ceiling standing upside down. (A/N _Naruto mastered the climbing exercise_) "Found this little trick while practicing Kaiten. I accidentally used Ranpu chakra instead of my regular one! It works by expelling the special chakra from my skin Tenketsu! I call it 'Kagamiiki' (Mirror Breath)" he chirped.

"Wha? How? Who? I couldn't find him even with my Byakugan!" Hiashi stuttered.

"Even Miki-chan couldn't find him and she can sense heat!" Anko continued pointing at the snake that was happy to find her friend safe. (Look up facial pits in snakes)

"Even his chakra signature was gone!" Ibiki added.

Naruto decided to add his two cents. "Well for the first two parts, remember that my Ranpu chakra controls ALL forms of light, even infrared, x-ray and chakra!" he said causing Hiruzen and Hiashi to facepalm themselves. "As for the other one, when you run from angry mobs led by shinobi for the better part of your life, you pick up on some tricks!" he answered matter-of-factly after he jumped down from there. (A\N _In my fanfic chakra energy is different from chakra radiation_)

The Hokage then said "Naruto that is a very nifty trick but that basement is no place for a child!"

"Why?" the kid looked confused.

It was Anko's turn now "Whadda ya mean 'why'? Didn't cha' heard the screams in that place?" she asked very perplexed.

"Yeah I did and it was scary at first but then I heard some ANBU talking about that the people who screamed are traitors and enemies and that they deserved it! I also saw Hokage-jii-san walking in there a couple of times and the screams didn't stop so I thought that they were right. Also remember that's where the guy who tried to kill me is so that added to the equation." Naruto answered thankful for all those language lessons with Haruko.

"But still Naruto-kun , didn't you found it disturbing what the people there did to the prisoners?" asked a worried Hiashi.

"Of course I did and I was a little sad for them!" the boy now looked at the floor but then looked to the two T&I specialists. "But Oji-san and Onee-chan here were not that mean to them, so either those guys were very sensitive or were just cowards!" he said wrapping his arms together and nodding.

This gave Anko a 'are-you-serious' look together with a tick mark.

"Whadda ya mean 'not that mean'? Gaki last week I nearly cut off a guy's pinky finger before he told me where he hid those docu…!"

"ANKO!" Hiruzen screamed not wanting to introduce the boy to the wonderful art of torture.

"Really? I bet that hurt!" said Naruto looking away, a little disturbed, making Anko smirk.

Hiashi took over the conversation "See Naruto-kun! That place is definitely not a place a child should be! It is commendable that you understand that what happens there is for the good of the village but it is not good for you to take part in them."

Naruto then answered "Big deal! I've been through worse than most things there! I mean onee-san has to keep most of them alive!"

The two special Jounin were surprised until Sarutobi explained the boy's situation and life before his admittance in the Hyuuga compound.

(A\N: _I know I am kind of overusing the whole difficult childhood thing but … well … this is how my fanfic is going to be! Besides most people like drama_)

The story had a different effect on each adult. Ibiki looked in admiration at the 'brat' but it did not mean he wasn't pissed off. Miki was standing in attack position hissing loudly. Anko on the other hand was a little furious but was more confused.

"Gaki, why did he do this to you?" she asked.

Naruto then looked at the Hokage who nodded and then turned to the woman. "Well I first thought that it was because my parents were some kind of traitors or that I actually did something wrong, but later I found out the real reason. Let me give you a hint he is furry, red, is as big of the Hokage Mountain, and is sealed inside me." he said smiling.

Both T&I specialists looked at Hiruzen who nodded and said "It's okay, he knows!".

"The Kyuubi!" answered Ibiki gaining a nod from the boy.

By now, to say that Anko was seriously pissed would be the understatement of the millennia. After all it was the same thing that happened to her because of her traitor sensei Orochimaru. She generated so much KI that was close to rivaling Kurama's and the fox had centuries to build up. But just as it started, Anko pulled it back and then dropped on one knee and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. She then smiled and told the boy.

"Ga… I mean Naruto-kun, if anybody even looks at you the wrong way you come and tell your Onee-chan, ok?" she said deceitfully sweet.

Naruto saw through the nice mask that Anko had adorned and nodded furiously.

Meanwhile Ibiki was thinking 'This kid is a natural at infiltration.' "Gaki, I have to hand it to you for staying awake through that. The shock from the pain alone could have killed a civilian adult."

"Well I have been through worse than that! I guess that I got used to it." Naruto answered plainly, like it was a normal thing.

This made the two special Jounin curious but noticed the Hokage waving at them not to ask.

"Naruto-kun, it's getting late so we have to get back since I'm sure that Hinata and Hanabi will through a tantrum if we delay any further." said Hiashi making the boy back away, looking a little scarred. He knew from experience that if Hanabi would get mad it, all hell would break loose. Last time that happened it was when she had to take a standard vaccine for children. It took Naruto and Haruko two days to repair the relation between father and daughter, since it was Hiashi who took her to the doctor.

"Okay!" the boy answered before lifting the privacy seal. He was about to walk out of the room when Miki coiled herself around the boy as if saying goodbye.

Looking at the two, an idea flashed through Anko's head.

"Naruto-kun, why don't you keep Miki-chan for a little while? I've been pretty busy these days and she got a little bored, so I think she will be happy."

The boy then looked at Miki who happily hissed and nodded, and then turned back to the woman.

"That would be great Onee-chan but, wouldn't she scare the other people in the compound? I mean she is a pretty big snake."

"Oh I don't think that it would be a problem." Anko smiled and gave a mental command to Miki by looking her way.

The snake understood what she meant and began shrinking until she was about as small as a shoelace.

"Cool!" thought the boy who picked her up gently in his hand.

Anko then saw the worried look on Hiashi. "Just so you know, she is a summon snake and is a lot smarter than common animals. She knows who is to be trusted but you can also tell her that somebody is a friend and let her get their scent and she will never attack them unless you command her. But just in case, here is the antidote." she handed both Naruto and Hiashi each a vile of the counter-poison. "Oh and if you need more, come and find me!" she said with an evil grin.

This action relaxed Hiashi and made him accept the offer and the snake.

Then both of them left the office.

*End flashback*

Naruto snapped back to reality to notice that he was getting close to his destination and took to looking around, memorizing the route so he may come back later. He then noticed a shinobi store to his left and a strange looking scroll in the window of the said shop. He found it unusually alluring and intriguing and went to look at it closer.

"Does that storage scroll interest you Naruto-sama?" branch member 1 asked and the boy nodded in response.

"What is a storage scroll?" the boy got curious.

The Hyuuga guard then smiled and told him to wait there. He then went inside the store and after a few minutes came out with a copy of the one in the window. He then knelt to the boy and told him.

"These work like your armbands but have a greater storage capacity. Both use Fuuinjutsu to create a 'big pocket' if you will. Hiashi-sama showed you how the seals on the bands work, right?" he explained to the blond earning another nod.

"Ano, what is Fuuinjutsu? I heard Hokage-jii-san use that word a couple of times." Naruto asked earning a deadpan face from Hizashi (not that the boy noticed).

'You use an A-rank, 25-seal Fūin (Tomb of Secrets) seal-less and you don't even know what Fuins are?' thought the branch head.

Branch member 2 decided to step in "Well Naruto-sama, Fuuinjutsu is a shinobi art like Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. It is the most difficult one to use as learning it takes time and hard work. In fact Konoha now has only one (Fūin) Seal Master. He is Jiraya-sama, the Yondaime Hokage's sensei." he said with pride.

"What does it do?" the boy became even more curious as he heard about his dad.

Hizashi took over "Well, it can do anything you want provided that you know the seal formula and you have the skill to apply it. To know a seal formula or to create your own you have to study a lot of Seal Theory and to have the skill you have to practice. Understand?"

"Yep! But one more question, what is a seal formula?"

Member 1 then opened the scroll to reveal a strange pattern, like a star with a circle in the middle. "See the marks on the scroll? This is the seal formula." He then hand the scroll over to the boy to look closer. "You may keep that scroll! It is reusable and it has a preservation addition to keep things from going bad." the Hyuuga smiled.

"Thank you!" the boy answered.

They then walked until they got in front of the library. While for any adult it looked like a normal public building, for the boy it looked like a castle … or prison. He was a little afraid of entering since everywhere else people would throw him out the minute he stepped in, calling him hurtful names.

(_A\N: We interrupt this fanfic for a special announcement! After I finished this part of the chapter I read the original manga 590 and I just want to say __**FUCK YOU DANZO! DAMN YOU TO MANGA HELL! I WISH IT WAS YOU SUFFERING AN ETERNITY IN THE SHINIGAMI'S STOMACH NOT MINATO! It was always you who did stupid things that led good guys do bad things Nagato, Itachi, Sai and many more!**__ Ah that felt good. Expect serious Danzo bashing later on! Question is how? Meh, I'll figure it out eventually! Now back to the story!_)

He stood there for a few seconds until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned towards the location and traced the arm that was attached to his body to find Hizashi's reassuring face nodding at him. He let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding and stepped towards the large gate like wooden doors. He took the door knob in his hand and turned it at the same time a knot was slowly making its way up his throat. He then reached for his inner pocket that was close to his heart and feeling the contents he recovered his nerve.

Slowly walking inside the short corridor he reached the main part of the building. The first thing he noticed was the huge wooden desk that had a small personal computer (think 80s computers) and with a small quantity of paperwork and official documents stacked on top of it, nowhere near what was on the Hokage's desk.

He immediately noticed the smell of old and new books in the dry conditioned air that was similar to the Hyuuga library he used to go when searching for techniques or when Haruko sent him to bring either books or scrolls for his social and compulsory education like math and sciences. Mastering the Shadow Clones and his Soujin Seishin helped him learn everything there almost by heart. But here the air was so much thicker that he was used to.

Naruto understood why when he turned his head admiring the four story bookshelves lined up in rows that looked like supermarket aisles with a main corridor wide enough for ten people to walk side by side or in this case for long tables to be placed with seven chairs each, leaving enough room for only two people on each side.

The place had very few windows as sunlight could be very harmful for books or scrolls so the place was lit mostly by neon lights with almost unnoticeable seal arrays placed on them as filters. What can I say? These people took their knowledge seriously.

Hizashi motioned the boy to keep moving bringing him out of his tourist like state. The boy obeyed the man followed closely by the two Hyuuga branch members. The path was shaped as such that all parties going in or out would have to pass the check desk (_A/N: Sorry, don't know how it's called in English_). As the blond got closer he noticed a woman in her early 30's. She was dressed in a simple black and blue kimono with a white sash, had her hair tied in a top bun and wore glasses.

When Hizashi passed her, the man received a bow followed by a smile. He responded with a small nod and continued on his way gesturing lightly to Naruto.

The woman caught this moment and looked curiously towards the motion's direction. And that's when all hell broke loose.

She saw Naruto and immediately snarled and snapped.

"What the hell are you doing here you trash? Get out before I throw you out!" she screamed at the boy ignoring the most sacred volume rule of a library and giving the cue to the Hyuuga guards who shunshined towards the librarian Byakugan ablaze, one in front and one to her rear. The later one grabbed her shoulder and hand twisting it uncomfortably to her back in a lock while the former stretched his right hand at her neck simulating a knife or a sword staring in her eyes with murderous intention and releasing his KI.

"You will retract your words and apologize to Naruto-sama!" the Hyuuga ordered in a very angry tone.

"It's okay Isamu-san, Mamoru-san!" shouted Naruto.

"But Naruto-sama she…" Isamu tried to protest.

"I said its okay, please!" the boy resumed.

Both attacking Hyuuga glared at the woman and then released her shunshining back to the blond's side but this time much closer.

Meanwhile the woman who just saw her life flash through her eyes relaxed enough to breathe again.

Hizashi leaned over the desk.

"In case you are wondering we are on official business here as an escort for the boy as ordered by Hokage-sama. _And as a little extra information, even if it was not a mission most Hyuuga branch members and even some of the head family would protect the boy with his or her life_!" the man whispered the last part making the woman's eyes widen with curiosity and fear. She responded by a simple and slow nod.

"Naruto-kun, come over here and give her that paper from Hokage-sama!"

"Hai!" the boy whispered loud enough to be heard but still good enough to respect the rules. He got a course on library conduct from Haruko and the boy soaked it up like a sponge.

The blond then reached in one of his sleeve's pocket and pulled out the official note.

"_By order of the Sandaime Hokage,_

_Uzumaki Naruto is to be given unrestricted access to all theoretical and instructional material and access to the jutsu library below C-rank._

_This is a low B-class secret punishable by two weeks of intense torture!_

_Sarutobi Hiruzen_"

She read and reread the note over and over again checking the seal for authenticity. The woman could not believe that a child who was not even an academy student was allowed in the shinobi portion of the library, even if it was only just D and E rank jutsu. She then lifted her head from the paper to find a large bouquet of yellow roses (A/N _According to info I found on Wikipedia, yellow roses can mean friendship and apology among others_) where the boy's head was, surprising the librarian a great deal.

"Umm… These are for you ma'am! I realized that I would be coming here a lot since I love to read so I wanted to apologize for being a bother and thank you!" said Naruto with a small smile that almost radiated.

To say that the woman was surprised was like saying that Jiraya accidentally peeps on women. She then slowly reached for the flowers and picked them up shakily. The librarian then stared at Naruto with a look that put Isamu and Mamoru on guard. They were expecting her to throw the flowers back at the blond. But what happened next surprised everyone close by. She lifted her hand to cover her eyes as a couple of tears trickled down her cheeks meeting on her chin before dripping down.

"Are you okay ma'am? Did I upset you?" the boy asked full of concern for the woman.

The woman then whipped her tears and removed her arm allowing the boy to observe her facial features and notice two things: sadness and regret.

"No Uzumaki-san, you didn't do anything wrong! You never did and I just followed the voice of the village like an idiot and called you names thinking that you were a monster! I'm the one who should apologize! I'm sorry!" she said bowing at the boy.

"It's okay, I get that a lot! Kyu really hurt and scared people that night!" the boy replied. He knew that he shouldn't talk about Kurama in the open like that but all of the people in the library evacuated as soon as the two branch Hyuuga lunged at the woman. He also felt that he could trust her.

"Wha? How did you...?" she asked, frightened by the turn of events and the mention of the fox by the boy.

"You mean how I know about the Kyuubi no Yoko?" the boy asked a clarifying question.

The librarian nodded in return.

"Well I kind of met him a while ago. His name is Kurama and he is actually a nice guy! I call him Nii-san. That night when he attacked he was under a powerful genjutsu that made him go berserk. I can't go into details about it sorry but I have to say that it was him who came up with the flowers idea! Oh and by the way this is supposed to be a secret, A-class! Only me and the Hokage are allowed to talk about this. And please call me Naruto." he smiled at the end of his statement.

This was a lot to take in for the poor woman but being used to high amounts of information and knowledge made her recover surprisingly quick. She then asked a very good question.

"But the feel that the Kyuubi gave when… he… attacked was that of pure malice and that can't be formed through genjutsu!"

The boy looked trapped and worried. He started fidgeting and put a hand to his chin, getting into a thinking pose. After a few seconds he gave up and looked at the woman with slight regret … asking her "Ano, what does 'malice' mean?" with a smile earning face faults from the adults.

"It means the desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another." she answered smiling with a small sweat-drop.

"Oh! That was because of human stupidity!" the boy answered with a little anger showing on his face. "He and his eight other brothers just wanted to live their life in peace but over the centuries they have been hunted and sealed inside one person after another! I think that that would make anyone want to kill everybody since most Jinchuriki don't have control over their seal projection and they end up somewhere like a sewer or a dark, boring place that would make you go crazy!" he said matter-of-factly.

The woman widened her eyes at the boy's answer. It made a lot of sense and then some. Now she wasn't like the uneducated rabble that refused to see reason. No, years of living within a vault of knowledge opened her mind to the unknown. So an hour later and a couple of slaps and a glass of water poured over her face and she woke up and showed to the boy the right sections of the library and presenting herself as Chizuru.

Naruto felt like he was a kid in a candy store with almost unlimited coupons. He created a couple of shadow clones in a hidden place and had them go invisible using Kagamiiki. In ten minutes he had the layout of the library memorized. He started going through many bookshelves finding what he wanted. He found five thick books on chakra theory and nature, 152 books (using Kage Bunshin) on education from pre-school to doctorate level including math, literature, social studies, history, biology, physics, chemistry, electronic and computer sciences, logic, psychology, a lot of novels and instructor books on finer arts like music and painting. He also got two books on jutsu creation, a couple of lesser forms of taijutsu scrolls, basic medical jutsu scrolls, and all Fuuinjutsu books and scrolls he could find that he had access to. He thought about Genjutsu but decided against taking information for them since he knew that his chakra wouldn't let him do any normal genjutsu. Even his normal Bunshin had similar make-up as the Kage Bunshin except that they didn't have chakra systems and his Henge was solid. He found out that it was the small addition of Kurama's chakra to his own that caused this, since the fox's chakra had a cohesive property (so much so that even when it dies it just reforms in time) and was much denser and more potent. He decided against Ninjutsu for the same reasons as well as the fact that he wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps and create his own cool jutsu but still took a couple of useful D-rank elemental jutsu that could be useful for starting campfires or filling water bottles.

When he noticed how many books he had gathered he saw that the stack was five times taller than him and twice as wide. The boy pondered the problem of getting them to the check desk but remembered the storage scroll in his pocket. He pulled it out and sealed the books and then went towards Chizuru.

"Chizuru-san, I would like to check these out!" he said with a smile and unsealed the scroll burying the woman's desk in books.

She sweat-dropped and then parted the pile in the middle and told the boy with a shaky laugh "Umm… Naruto-kun, I'm afraid you can check-out only three books any single time."

Naruto's smile dropped. He really did want to take those books with him to read at a later time. "Really?" he said in a sad tone.

"I'm sorry but those are the rules! You can copy them with that machine but it will take a lot of time to do so since you have to do it page by page!" she said pointing to a copy machine.

The blond didn't like the sound of that "Ungh! So I guess I got to either come here really often or I have to copy them on th…" Naruto stopped rambling as an idea lit his face. "Wait! Copy? I got it!" he smiled as he put his hand on the stack of learning material. The books started glowing a light bluish-purple as the boy charged them with chakra. Naruto then focused a little and said (not shouted) "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Book Version!" A second later another pile of books, identical to the first one appeared next to the boy. He then quickly sealed the cloned books and went off to put the originals back in their place leaving three dumbstruck adults and one chuckling Hizashi Hyuuga.

"Is it okay now?" he asked the woman.

"I guess so but that many books means I will not see you in a long time." Chizuru admitted being a little sad.

"Yeah, I guess three weeks is a long time." Naruto admitted.

"Wha? You have about two hundred books in that scroll! It will take you years not weeks!" she lashed back.

"Nope! I usually read around ten books a day! I call it 'shadow reading'!" the boy grinned foxily.

Chizuru put an arm in a horizontal position in front of her neck and said "Eeeeh?" (Anime style surprise). She then looked at Hizashi who smiled and shook his head and told her:

"Don't ask! He read the whole Hyuuga library and reread some books and scrolls more than once in four months memorizing most of them down to the dot!"

The Hyuuga party then checked out after an exchange of goodbyes.

Naruto felt like he was on cloud nine. He was so immersed in thought imagining the cool things that he could learn from the books that he didn't even notice when they got back to the compound.

As soon as they entered Naruto saw something that made him smile in a warm fashion. Hinata was coaching Hanabi in the basics of the Juken and by the looks of it, the older sister was a slave driver as Hanabi was about to pass out from exhaustion but still kept her cool. This scene reminded the boy of the time he did something similar with Hinata.

*Flashback - One year ago*

Hiashi and Haruko were returning from a short walk through the village. They invited the kids to come with them but they said that they wanted to train a little together and Naruto made a fresh clone to accompany the woman on her trip just in case.

After changing their clothes the Hyuuga head and his queen together with the clone were slowly making their way to the family dojo to check on the young pair. They slowly opened the door just enough to peek through and saw an exhausted Hinata standing on her hands and knees with Naruto perfectly straight standing just a little to her right, on his shoulder holding a foam bat as wide and long as he was. There were also twenty of his clones, each holding a bag filled soft water-filled balls around them.

"Hinata-chan get up!" the boy commanded with a steely expression.

"Hai!" she panted and slowly wobbled in a vertical position. She then got into an unfamiliar stance that looked like it was based on the Juken but looked more flexible. She then focused as Naruto retreated letting his clones form an uneven circle around her.

"Begin!" the original shouted. The clones then began to mercilessly throw the balls at the tired girl. Everything from here was in slow motion. As the balls got closer she inhaled and drew her boundary semi-circle with her left foot bringing it from the front to the back of her right one. She then looked frozen as the spheres were inching closer to her skin. When the forward most ball was a few millimeters from her skin it seemed to pass right through her as did most of the most other water filled containers that came towards her that were not deflected by the girl's hands and feet. The barrage continued until Hinata lost the tempo and deflected a ball with little too much power and lost her balance getting hit in the Byakugan blind spot by another and falling on one knee.

She panted a little before receiving a smack in the same spot from the original boy's bat.

"I thought I told you this a couple of times by now, no force! Only speed and timing! The Ryuusei (Spirit Style) uses only the opponent's power and redirects it so it causes no harm. To do that you must reduce your defense to a thin layer around your skin and you time it to the last second! Do you understand Hinata-chan?" he said with the same expression as before.

"H-Hai!" she said a little deflated trying to get up and earning another smack to the same spot sending her crashing to the ground.

By now Hiashi couldn't take more from the boy and wanted to barge in and Juken bitch-slap Naruto but Haruko saw underneath the obvious and paralyzed her husband with a chakra strike to a pressure point making him turn into white jelly and holding him so that he could see what was going on.

"No you don't!" he growled a little. "The Ryuusei's greatest strength is also its major weakness. The fact that you shrink your defense to that level surprises the opponent into thinking that they found an opening but it also gives you less than a second to react in case it goes wrong. You are weak! That last ball could have been a shuriken or kunai and you would be injured or worse! Never underestimate your opponent unless you clearly know that you are at least five levels above him or her or you could die!" he told her with a slightly angry look on his face.

By now Hiashi was expecting that the girl would run out crying since it was more abuse than all the training sessions he did with them combined but then got the shock of his life.

Hinata slowly got up without a tear or otherwise. If anything she looked more determined than ever, standing straight without even blinking.

"What is our nindo?" asked Naruto.

"Never break a promise, never give up, never run away, always do your best and protect your precious people!" she said without stuttering once.

"Yosh! Our word is our honor! If we are weak we can only get stronger! If we are cornered we will still push forward! If we are scared we will find our courage! And we will do this while giving it our all because people will be counting on us!" the boy lectured military style.

"Hai!" she spoke.

"I didn't hear you!" Naruto looked at her.

"Hai!" she shouted.

"What?" the blond faked again.

"HAI SENSEI!" she yelled.

"Alright! Then let's get to it! Get ready!" he commanded as the clones finished gathering the balls and got into position and began to throw again.

This time she avoided beautifully moving like a flower in the wind, gliding past the projectiles and even directing some of them back at the clones. Naruto and the adults couldn't be more proud although Hiashi had flames in his eyes since he should be the only one his baby calls sensei in this house but Haruko noticed this and the man felt a finger tap his shoulder. He then looked in that direction and saw his wife smiling sweetly but behind her the dark figure smiled and waved at him making him loose the color in his face.

"Good job Hinata-chan! I knew you could do it!" Naruto threw the bat and hugged her sticking her face to his chest. (A healthy lifestyle and diet made Naruto taller than her by a head) She smiled and blushed (noticed also by her mother who giggled a little) and whispered "Thank you!"

"You deserve it but there is still a lot of work to do! Want to go at it again?" the boy smiled looking down to her.

Before she could answer her mother opened the door and entered. "Naruto-kun is right Hinata! You did a great job but that does not mean it can't be improved!" she smiled but then noticed the glare from the two kids. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"And since when have you been watching us Kaa-san?" Hinata asked lifting an eyebrow.

"Since about ten minutes before the hug." she said emphasizing the word 'hug' and getting a blush from both kids.

The woman giggled and then told them "You can continue this later but now it's time for dinner!". She then turned around and started walking towards the door. Once there she grabbed her husband's clothes and started dragging him with her.

"What happened to Hiashi-sama?" the boy asked.

"Hmm… let's just say that excitement got to him!" answered Haruko with a smile receiving the same thing from the children.

*End flashback*

Now it was Hinata's turn at teaching as the blond instructed her since he thought it was a good way for the sisters to bond.

Hanabi noticed his return "Naruto-nii-chan plwease save me fwom this mounster (please save me from this monster)!" said the panting toddler hiding behind the boy and glaring at Hinata.

The boy than broke into a good laugh with Hinata giggling a little. "What's funny?" the little girl asked.

"Is she really that bad Hanabi-chan?" Naruto asked lifting Hanabi into his arms like she was a leaf.

"Yeah, she is! I want to twain with nii-chan! (train)" she said keeping the glare on Hinata until she felt a shiver going down her spine. She then snapped her neck and gazed at the boy's face who now looked like completely black with a murderous smile and shiny white eyes (A/N: _Think a theatre mask that shows comedy opposed to that that looks like crying or is sad_) before going back to his kind expression.

It was Hinata's turn to laugh only hers was softer.

"What's funny?" a worried Hanabi asked.

"Well Hanabi-chan, Hinata-chan is laughing at your silliness! She was much kinder with you than I or Hiashi-sama was with her!" Naruto explained.

"Rweawy? (Really)" the little sister cocked an eyebrow.

"Yup! A month ago I made her dodge two hundred bamboo sticks lined with poison ivy that were tied to trees in the forest outside." the blond explained with an almost sadistic smile getting shivers from both girls (for different reasons).

"Why did you dwo dat nii-chan? (do that)"

Naruto then put Hanabi down and looked at her with sad eyes making the girl worry.

"Because Hanabi-chan, Hinata-chan and I want to be shinobi and they are in a lot of danger! We want to become shinobi to protect those who we love like your tou-sama, kaa-san and you, but there are others out there who get stronger so they can hurt people who are kind and did nothing wrong! Don't ask me why they do because I don't know but I do know one thing and that is we train to beat those people and if you want to get stronger you have to do it until you can't stand anymore because that means giving it your all! That is our nindo, our ninja way!" he told the girl. "So, do you want to train with me?" he grinned and the toddler paled while shaking her head violently from side to side. She then dashed to her sister's side and started practicing the katas making everybody else laugh like there was no tomorrow.

Naruto then returned to his room (which was the size of a small ball room) where he was greeted by a very happy and stuffed Miki (Apparently the compound was full of rodents and Miki loves hunting and eating mice) and activated his privacy seal. He then changed and took out the scroll and unsealed the contents. He wanted to start with chakra theory but that was in the middle of the pile so he pulled it out and then the whole top came crashing down on him. He dug himself out, torso still deep in learning material when an orange book hit him on the top of his head and landed in his hands.

"What's this?" he asked himself as he didn't remember taking that book. He then opened the book and read a few lines before blood rushed to his face thermometer style and when it reached the top he blasted out a huge quantity of blood out of his nose. He then got into a throwing position for the book but just couldn't bring himself to throw it away so he resealed it.

He then made a few shadow clones that cleaned up, recharged (with chakra) and sealed the books that weren't needed. Naruto then picked five books and placed them in his clothes. He then created a thousand clones that were even standing on a ceiling due to being crowded. He gave them the order to pick a book and a page and start memorizing it. As soon as they were finished they had to read the rest of the pages after the one they selected. The original then went to sleep.

*End chapter*

A\N

As some of you may have noticed the Spirit Style (Ryuusei) is based on the Ryuusei Seikuuken from HSD Kenichi for which I state the disclaimer that I do not own anything from it.

Also I will not make Naruto into a pervert like Kakashi but the book will prove a source for funnies.

Also after reading this chapter I think that it will turn into a Sannin-like academy graduate Naruto after all.

Poll info so far. Some people didn't vote for all questions so there will be a slight imbalance. These are counting the PM votes

Y-13/N-19

*Canceled*

Y-21/N-11

Y-12/N-18

*Secret*

L-22/S-2

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

Author notes

splitheart1120: By the end of last chapter he was already high Chuunin. At this rate he will be Sage Level in one year… or not.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for.

Previously on _Naruto of the Shinsougan:_

Naruto then picked five books and placed them in his clothes. He then created a thousand clones that were even standing on a ceiling due to being crowded. He gave them the order to pick a book and a page and start memorizing it. As soon as they were finished they had to read the rest of the pages after the one they selected. The original then went to sleep.

Main story:

Two months later we find our blond hero studying another stack of books, his third. He was currently in the Hyuuga dojo conditioning his body while a thousand more clones were reading another set of learning material. The original was finding it difficult to move due to the fact that a week ago he changed his gravity bands that were getting too small for his arms to body conditioning bands. He got these as a gift from Hiashi on his birthday the day after the council event but had to wait for them to be refitted with the storage seals that he had gotten used to.

*Flashback*

Naruto forced his eyelids to open as the merciless sun forced him to return from the land of dreams. He stretched his numbed hands and let out a powerful yawn looking around the room while scratching his sweaty skin. The boy then motioned to get up attracting attention from the area outside of his room. There was a light knock on the wooden frame of the door as the walls revealed a womanly figure through the paper that made up the walls of the traditional Japanese house. This could have been easily stopped by a privacy seal but he would usually feel more secure without it.

"Yes!" the blond answered.

"Naruto-kun, can I come in?" the soft feminine voice asked.

"Enter Yuki-san!" Naruto smiled.

The door gently slid open to let Hyuuga Yukihime gracefully enter closing itself when she reached inside the boy's room. She then knelt near his bed looking like a Japanese woman greeting her fiancé on the night of her betrothal ('I may be inexperienced but please take care of me!'). Naruto was startled by this event. The woman would usually help him with his morning rituals like dressing and cleaning his room but she never made a move like this.

Before he could ask what was wrong Yuki posed a question.

"Naruto-kun, no, Naruto-sama may I overstep my boundary as your attendant just for today?" she smiled making the boy cringe a little since he never liked being called 'sama'. Except for Hiruzen, Hiashi and the dead Hokages, everybody else he (yet) knew being addressed with that suffix were complete assholes.

"Except calling me 'sama', of course you can Yuki-san!" he practically ordered the first part making the woman giggle.

"Understood! Well then…"

With those last words she pounced on the boy placing two soft lips on his sensitive whiskered cheeks and not letting go for what seemed like an eternity making Naruto look confused before feeling his face get hot from the blood rushing to point out his nervousness. After a while she finally removed her face from his with a very beautiful smile that seemed to radiate joy.

"What was that?" the boy asked.

"That Naruto-kun was your first birthday present as well as a token of my gratefulness!" she giggled a little.

"Present? Thank you! But… umm… really, what was it?" he said a little embarrassed by his lack of knowledge.

This shocked Yuki a great deal making her frown and ruining her smile. Naruto quickly noticed this.

"Did… did I upset you just now? I have seen parents and other people do it in the park sometimes but the always go away before I get close to hear what they call it!" the blond buried his chin into his clothes but still keeping his eyes on the woman.

Yuki then realized what has happened and immediately smiled to keep the boy from worrying but deep down she was still sad 'I forgot that Naruto-kun never had anyone kiss him or even tell him that they love him!'.

"No you didn't Naruto-kun, I was just surprised! It's called a 'kiss' and is a show of affection or love and you usually do it because you either love somebody like a girlfriend, parent or somebody close to you, or that you care for that person and want to express it!" she explained.

"So what was it this time?" the boy smiled after listening to Yuki's words.

"Both!" she answered without hesitation earning a surprised (but not worried) look from Naruto. "Hiashi-sama called us today to tell us that the sealing will be stopped from this day forward and that all the use of the seal has been forbidden in all but self-defense. That means that if we do not attack the main house, they will not use the seal on us!" she almost jumped for joy.

"We also heard from Hizashi-sama that you are the one we have to thank!" she gently hugged Naruto from the bottom of her heart.

"No problem, I'm just glad that you guys are happy!" the blond chirped.

Yuki giggled a little getting him ready for his birthday party and what a party it was. Nearly every branch member together with Hiruzen, Hiashi and his immediate family came and wished him a happy birthday and bringing him presents. He got about twenty new robes made of the finest silk, a couple of children safe practice shinobi gears, books, candy and many others. But the presents that he loved the most were the ones he got from the later people.

From the Hokage he got a framed picture of his parents together with a scroll detailing their lives, from Haruko and Hinata he got a homemade birthday cake, Hanabi made a drawing with him as a knight and her as a princess as he beat a monster. Hiashi on the other hand gave him something practical. The man had noticed how the bands on his wrists and ankles were getting smaller so he got him a pair similar to Hinata's but more powerful. He was very happy for the gift but he asked if they could get the same storage seals on the wrist ones. Hiashi agreed and sent them to be modified.

After that they all had the times of their lives with some adolescent shinobi branch members pulling the boy to the side and taking out a storage seal, they poofed-out a large ten litre bottle of sweet sake. They all started drinking hoping that Naruto would get drunk and give them a good show. They ended up passing out from the booze with the boy still not even tipsy. The Ranpu chakra would just negate the alcohol (A/N_ Since alcohol is a poison_) and Kurama's energy would vitalize his body making him more resilient. He then joined the party feeling very fresh but got a little too close to Haruko who then smelled the substance coming off the boy. He asked him about it and he told her like nothing was wrong. She smiled and returned to the party and then went after the group who were just waking up. They then saw and felt Haruko's presence at the entrance to the 'alley' formed by two Hyuuga houses. What followed nobody knows since, except the loud screaming and bashing, all that could be sensed was an adolescent trying to crawl his way out only to be dragged back by a shadowy clawed hand that was big enough to clench around his torso, arms included. A smiling Haruko then came out of that place dusting her hands and kimono.

*End flashback*

These new bands could now be deactivated mentally and created thousands of chakra wires between the body's joints not affecting his gravity and thus his growth. They would either tension or stiffen, depending on the boy's movement, essentially hampering his every move.

He was top naked while doing handstand push-ups with the bands still on and he felt like he was trying to swim through mercury (liquid metal) with every move met by an even greater resistance depending on the power used.

The dojo doors then slid open revealing Yuki who was smiling at the boy but also noticing his well-toned muscular torso and arms. 'He's going to be a real lady-killer when he grows up!' she giggled softly at her thoughts.

"Naruto-kun, Lady Haruko says that we will be leaving in an hour. I suggest that you end your training now and get ready!" she told him.

Naruto looked at her and nodded. With a final push he threw himself in the air doing a flip and making a landing that would make an Olympic gymnast green with envy.

Yuki applauded at the display and Naruto did a showy bow and then left to get ready to depart.

Thirty minutes later Naruto arrived sporting a new pair of travel clothes together with his bands. He wore a tight black short-sleeved Chinese vest that had hardened leather shoulder guards and was decorated with an orange oriental dragon that appeared to be coiling around the torso with its head stopping between the shoulder blades and in its mouth holding a red cat-like eye that resembled Kurama's. He wore dark blue leggings with orange fox like tails decorating his pockets, nine for each one. On top he wore a thin sleeveless light orange trench coat with the red and black Uzumaki-clan spiral in the middle of the Hyuuga flame on its back that only closed on his torso making it look more like a cloak (think Ichigo Kurosaki's bankai outfit but with a high collar and a zipper and the end was not roughed-up) and had a hood that could be stashed away inside a 'pocket' in the collar. He made this uniform himself with Yuki's help. He was especially proud of the seals he created on them after he finished memorizing the Fuuinjutsu books he got from the library. Each article of clothing had a self-cleaning, temperature management (that kept the clothes heated or cooled depending on your preferences) and restoration seal that could repair and even grow the clothes provided that you first seal workable material inside it, but its key feature was a barrier seal that could store chakra and release it on command to form a powerful and flexible shield around it like a second skin. He wanted to create it to self-activate but found it impossible at his level. For the past week he poured his chakra into them and could now take three A-rank jutsu before it failed.

The boy waited patiently for the rest of the travel group to finish packing. Everything that he found useful was either stored in his wrists or in three storage seals that he created himself after many trials and errors. Five minutes before the deadline Hiashi came out together with his immediate family, Yuki, and fifteen branch member guards. They all wore more travel ready versions of their robes with the girls wearing light chainmail underneath for extra protection. Haruko ushered them to board the carriage and they left for the Fire Capital.

The journey was uneventful (except for lunch that with the boy was always 'eventful') and later that day they arrived at their destination. Once there Naruto felt overwhelmed by the new sights and smells so much so that even from inside the carriage he activated Shinsougan and Soujin Seishin to take in all the sights that he could. A couple of minutes later (and half his chakra reserves) and he had a pretty good idea of the layout of at least half the city including a huge castle like mansion in the middle. The boy suspected that there resided the Fire Daimyo, his family and his entourage. He continued looking around, this time without his abilities until they reached the hospital.

"Honey, I can take care of myself from here on! Why don't you go check us in at the hotel." smiled Haruko directing the question at her husband who seemed very reluctant to do so. She continued "Don't worry so much! I feel fine and these are the best doctors in the land so nothing will happen to me. Besides I'm sure that the kids will like a little sightseeing before we go back home and it will take a while before I'm done with the check-up!" but still didn't convinced the Hyuuga head until Naruto made a clone.

"Kaoru-san and I will take care of her Hiashi-sama!" clone Naruto declared finally securing the man's worries and the girl's happiness.

They left half of the guard contingent with the patient and went about their way. They checked in at the hotel and sorted out the rooms. The guards got their own while Hiashi got a two bed room for himself and his family and Naruto got a similar one to share with Yuki who was more than glad with this arrangement.

After a quick meal they left to take in the history of their beloved land's capital. And by history I mean first stop was the market district where Hiashi cringed a bit. Each child had at least two adult bodyguards while they checked each stall of the district. Hinata and Hanabi checked the various clothing and material booths since the older sister liked to make clothes. In fact she was the one who made the tail patterns on Naruto's pants with Yuki's help after begging the woman to let her do it. Turns out she had a natural talent for home economics.

Naruto on the other hand was a man… boy on a mission. He made it his duty to check every ramen shop in a one mile radius and was having the time of his life. That is until he reached a hill that was decorated with a couple of trees and a lot and I do mean A LOT of stairs. He was mesmerized by the sight of the serene looking piece of earth until a hand on his back snapped him out of his daze.

"Impressive isn't it Naruto-sama?" Isamu commented.

"What is it?" the boy asked.

"It is the Capital Fire Temple! It is a section of the Main Fire Temple and the place where the citizens and wondering monks come to rest and meditate. Want to check it out?" the man answered earning a nod from the boy. "Okay but quickly! We don't have much time left and Hiashi-sama wants to visit the Fire Museum!"

They climbed the stairs and found themselves face to face with a simple bald Buddhist monk that was sweeping the entrance way.

"Hello!" he smiled.

"Greetings!" the Hyuuga and the blond said in unison while bowing.

"Came for some sightseeing or for some enlightenment?" the monk asked.

Before Isamu could answer Naruto took the stand.

"The first part but only a fool would refuse the second!" he smiled back. He knew that those books on logic would help him.

"Wise words young one. Where have you heard them?" the bald man smiled at the blond.

"An open mind welcomes newcomers!" he said again this time inventing the expression and earning a good laugh from the monk.

"Indeed! Well enjoy the temple but be careful, some of these structures are here since before the capital was formed!" the monk gestured them to enter through the gate.

The courtyard was beautiful and even though it was the end of January the warm climate of the country made the sakura trees blossom each season and now they were in full bloom. They walked a little before entering the main hall that was made of stone. It was simply decorated albeit huge and it looked more like western monastery than a temple with support columns on either side of the main path. Its accessories were also in that same unique combination.

"Naruto-sama, please wait here while I get our fortune slips." Isamu commented and the boy nodded in approval.

While he was away Naruto activated the Shinsougan to get a better view of the building and was glad he did since the attention to detail was mind numbing. There was an image on the ceiling depicting the perfect harmony of the elements with fire in the middle. What was even more surprising was the fact that even though it was twenty square meters in size it was created from colored stones no bigger than a grain of rice. The walls were decorated in writing, some of which too old to be read.

One such area attracted the blond's attention. With his Ranpu ability activated he noticed that a stone block that formed a part of that area had shining white writing like it was written with LEDs.

He gently approached the mysterious appearance and saw that besides the intricate symbols were two palm prints, one vertical fingers pointed to the sky and one horizontal fingers pointed at the first hand.

"What's this?" he whispered.

The writing reacted to his breath and the lines began shifting until they settled for modern kanji. Naruto narrowed his eyes and read.

'_Here rests Meian, child of light and darkness! _

_She rests besides her Guardians, waiting for the one who walks the shadow's boundary to awaken her with a bloody kiss. Do you dare be the one to share your destiny with her oh seer of twilight and dawn? Then release the shackles on your mind and let loose thy soul! Reach out to the cold, lifeless stone and touch the beautiful East and the cold North with thy palms! Burn thy doubts of destiny for you are blessed by brilliance or by nether, given eyes to read this message, the message of the ancients! Place…'_

Naruto read the words inscribed in stone with burning interest until the words became unreadable. It seems that even ancient power cannot escape time's wrath. He pondered for a minute what to do but then reached with a finger to touch the shining characters. His hand then slowly slid down, gently brushing against an imprint that lit up startling the boy. He removed his member and it dimmed back to its original intensity but the words '_Reach out to the cold, lifeless stone and touch the beautiful East and the cold North with thy palms! Burn thy doubts' _lit up even more indicating the following course of action. 'East and North… Burn thy doubts' were ringing in the blond's head over and over until he reached for the imprints with both hands and placed them accordingly. The words then started dancing like electrons in an atom around the boy's hands finally fading out of existence and a trap door opening beneath Naruto who went down like a hole-in-one.

It was a wild ride to the end on an ancient giant slide until he slid into a cave like room that looked to be at least ten stories tall from the little light seeped through from bluish crystals on the wall.

He shook his head and regained his bearings. The room was dark so he activated his Shinsougan in hopes of finding a ray of light. What he saw was more than he expected.

On the other side of a room was a sword surrounded by a very powerful barrier. The nature of that barrier looked to be chakra but he wasn't sure. But that was not the most surprising thing. No, the most surprising thing was that the sword which looked like a daito that was as big as him (Japanese longsword- like Tensa Zangetsu from Bleach) was actually the one radiating the barrier and had what looked to be center that was shining like a light bulb. Not knowing what to do he stepped in that direction and as soon as his foot touched the ground the intricate patterns on the walls lit up in a silvery-white light which converged behind the sword. The weapon's details could now be seen. Its blade looked like it was made from a single piece of pure white marble that appeared to flow inside its edges like a raging storm. Its handle was also white but it didn't flow and was wrapped in golden silk that started from the golden round handle that had engravings of the nine Bijuu and the rim was sculpted in the form of feathers (At the rim it looked like a nest of feathers).

The boy looked around the room in surprise and curiosity but suddenly his eyelids shot up and his mouth opened but no sound came from it. He slowly moved towards the stand where the weapon was, step by gruesomely weary step inching closer to his target. Naruto noticed two carvings that looked like square columns three times bigger than him with sculptures on top. One seemed to be a lion like creature with short female-deer like antlers and catfish like whiskers while the other one had a falcon with its wings opened and stretched towards the sky and with feathers that looked like fire. The two carvings stood in line, each statue facing each other and the gap formed between them pointed at the sword who stood inside a similar column but its middle was excavated away a little to make room for the weapon and on top of it was what looked like a lizard or dinosaur with wings and a horned head and spiky spine, the flight appendages stretched open and its head pointing directly at the gap mentioned earlier.

This statue attracted the boy the most as he inched his way towards the sword.

About halfway between the first two carvings and the sword a seal formula appeared on the ground and light shined from it like a lightning bolt bringing with it smoke before dying down. Naruto removed his hands after he brought them up to protect his face to find a living, nearly perfect copy of the creature depicted by the sword statue only this one didn't have spikes on his back, it's horns were shorter and it was five times the boy's size.

"How many centuries has it been since the dawn of the age of man? How many cycles have passed since the beast king was defeated by the Sage of Six Path?" the creature bellowed in a deep tone but then noticed the frightened little boy that trembled at its feet.

"A child?" it expressed its surprise. "How did an inexperienced little boy like you get passed the trial of the North? The cruel North is cold and for half it's time dark while a child should only be East, from where the sun rises. A hatchling is a reason for joy and brings warmth and light in anyone's life! Yet here I am, standing in Meian's cave, a moment all the Guardians have been waiting for since the age of the great Sage, talking to you! Tell me boy, who are you?" the creature's face came close to Naruto and let the boy look into its eyes calming him down. There was no malice in his eyes, oh how Naruto could tell. The ice cold glares filled with hatred nearly froze his innocent heart and only the heat of his beloved family and grandfather figure kept his sanity in place. But this being did not present even a sliver of that. No, it was pure curiosity that shined in its golden slit eyes.

Naruto let go of the breath he kept since the moment the creature spoke its first words and then responded.

"Naruto… Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki! May I ask yours and what are you?" he said feeling the confidence to share his full name with the beast.

"Polite and honest, even brave, I like you! My name is Fafnir the Dragon Prince, son of Ryuga the Dragon King of Order and Tiamat the Dragon Queen of Chaos!" he answered proudly.

Naruto's eyes went wide from the shock. "Dragon? As in the greatest of the three legendary guardian creatures said to protect the world from destruction?"

"Ah, for one of your age you show great knowledge! Indeed, it is how you said!" the creature smiled.

"Umm… forgive my rudeness but what are you doing here?" the boy asked.

"A reasonable question, seeing that my kind have not been seen in centuries in the human world. But indulge me first by answering the same question." Fafnir answered.

"Well at first I read the words on the wall and when I placed my hands on the imprints I fell through some kind of trap door." Naruto answered back.

"The trials of North and East. So it seems that you truly are the one chosen to lead the Guardians to greatness." the dragon smiled if it could be called that.

"Please wait there is more!" Naruto told Fafnir making the creature look at the blond in surprise. "After I recovered from the slide I used a technique to try to see in the dark, and then I saw the sword behind you had a shiny… 'ball' inside that looked a little like how a heart shows when I use the technique. I then moved closer wanting to pick it up to look at it." Naruto paused for air and giving Fafnir the chance to intervene.

"Ah yes! That sword is called Meian and I'm surprised you could see its core. This sword was formed from a claw of the great beast by the Sage of Six Paths and given life using his own technique making it indestructable. This is a rare sentient sword, the one with the most potential since her power grows with its master's." the dragon explained.

"The Juubi?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Yet again you surprise me with your knowledge. Indeed, it is such but the weapon cannot leave the pedestal except in the hands of the chosen of light and darkness. Only one that walks on both worlds can breach its own defenses." Fafnir explained.

"I see, no wonder it's so sad!" Naruto said, his own face falling in deep sorrow.

"What?" the dragon was taken by surprise.

"I can hear her in my mind and… in my heart!" the boy said grabbing his chest. "She is crying … of loneliness. She just wants a friend!" the blond said gazing at the blade.

"You can hear her? Then you must be the one! Please, don't let me stop you! Go! Go and give her the friend that she needs!" the beast sidestepped giving the boy the space to reach the sword.

He then stared at the barrier before lifting his arm.

"Just so you know child, if you are not the one that barrier will remove you from existence!" he said making the boy retract his hand for a moment but after hearing Meian cry one more time he steeled his resolve and pushed his arm forward making contact with the wall of energy. At that moment bolts of golden lightning shot out from the point of contact that was getting brighter by the second until it became so intense that even Fafnir had to avert his gaze so as not to go blind as a stray bolt hit him in the forehead. While it caused no damage to the dragon it did link his mind to Naruto's, the boy gaining the wisdom of a dragon and Fafnir gained new knowledge of the world (A\N: _Naruto loves to read history_!) and of the boy's life as Naruto remembers it.

And then just as it began it quickly stopped revealing a slightly ruffled-up Naruto holding Meian by its handle and holding the edge close to his forehead drawing a little blood. The boy still had his eyes closed before saying "It's okay now Meian-chan I promise I'll be your friend forever! _And awaken with a bloody kiss_!" whispering the last part as blood dripped down the sword and his forehead.

Naruto then smiled and giggle a little turning to Fafnir and was surprised what he saw. The dragon was bowing his head to the boy with a look of pure respect.

"Do not be surprised young one! When you broke Meian's barrier our minds linked. You will find that you now have centuries of my knowledge as I have your memories. And I want to say I have never felt this degree of cold and loneliness, not even in the twisted dark places of the demonic nether from which my mother comes from, than I have in your first years and yet you persevered and never gave into the hate and even saved another soul from it (Kurama). For that you have my respect and I ask you to become my brother!" Fafnir told Naruto who instantly jumped for joy at the thought of gaining a brother and nodded furiously.

The dragon smiled and then spoke "Then let it be known that from this moment onwards that Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki is the brother of Fafnir and a prince of dragons! All dragons beneath me are yours to command and should you need my aid just summon me and I will not refuse!"

"Umm how do I summon you?" the boy asked.

The dragon smiled and bashed his tail into the ground lightly. The columns split open revealing three scrolls.

"These are the Guardians summoning scrolls brother! You are the first human to ever hold them. Sign your name in blood on the dragon contract and any dragon will be yours to call upon! The Guardians need no hand-signs to be summoned. But to make them truly yours you must gain the respect of the highest summons. In the dragons case it is my mother Tiamat the Chaos Dragon though if it's you I'm sure she will love you like one of her hatchlings!"

Naruto signed the scroll and then turned to Fafnir "Can I sign all the contracts?"

"Yes you can! The Guardians have no quarrels among themselves but I think that you would find a single summon group enough for any needs, so, unless for sentimental values, you shouldn't sign another." Fafnir explained.

Naruto then grabbed the scrolls and sealed them inside his wristbands.

"Well it was fun and all Fa… brother, but how do I get out of here?" the boy pondered out loud.

"Stab the pedestal you are standing on with Meian. And goodbye brother!" with that Fafnir disappeared. Naruto then did as he was told. The stone then split open and he slid down another chute landing inside the water fountain that was at the base of the temple hill inside a small yard. The boy got out of the water and activated the self-clean seals and instantly dried himself. He wondered what to do with the sword but a rush of information came from Meian that told him everything about her. Naruto then smiled and relaxed as the sword faded out of existence. It appears that she was soulbound to the blond and could thus reside inside his heart and could be summoned back on command. She also transmitted knowledge of kenjustu techniques directly to the boy's mind.

The boy then breathed a sigh of relief but was soon snapped out of his daze by the sound of one very angry Hiashi.

"ISAMU HOW COULD YOU LET HIM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT?" the Hyuuga head roared.

"Hiashi-sama, I only left him alone for a minute and he was fifteen feet behind me!" Isamu tried to defend himself even if worry showed in his voice.

"You better pray that we find him before Haruko finds out or what she will do to us will make the cage seal activation feel like a light headache!" he warned the man making the boy snicker a little bit. He then dashed towards the six foot tall fence that was separating them and, deactivating his ankle bands for a moment he jumped, clearing them with room to spare. He then landed behind Isamu who then turned his pale-scared face towards the smiling boy.

"NARUTO-SAMA!" he screamed dashing towards the child but stopping a little in front of the blond.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick about you!" he scolded.

"It's a long story but first…" the boy's words were interrupted by a loud growl that sounded like a raged beast in mating season.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Isamu jumped into his stance Byakugan ablaze.

"That… was my stomach! I'm hungry!" the boy smirked at the man who face faulted, burying his head a foot into the ground then pulling it out like an ostrich .

They were greeted by a laugh coming from Hiashi who motioned them to the Hotel to meet up with the rest of the family and to hear the boy's story.

They all reached the hotel where they were greeted by Haruko and the rest of the group where they apologized for being late and Naruto blamed those 'tourist traps' for 'capturing' him. He explained how he found the sword that took a liking to him but kept the summoning scrolls a secret. He didn't know why there was a need for secrecy but blamed it on his newly acquired wisdom of the dragons.

"So what does this sword do?" asked Yuki.

"Well, I haven't figured that one out yet except for the fact that it's supposed to be indestructible and is now a part of me." Naruto said materializing Meian and making the people present gape in awe of its surreal beauty.

"Kire! (Beautiful)" exclaimed Hinata and Hanabi at the same time. "Can I look at it?" the older sister asked.

"Of course Hinata-chan!" he smiled handing Meian to the girl.

Hinata touched the blade and immediately felt a warm current circulate through her and in her surprise pulled her hand back. Naruto then noticed this and understood what was happening.

"Meian-chan is a sentient sword and is a part of me! She knows who are my precious people and will treat them accordingly! It will not cut people who I want to protect!" he smiled.

Hinata reached for the sword again and this time held it with more confidence relishing in the feeling it gave as it was very calming and reassuring. "Nice to meet you Meian-san! I am Hinata Hyuuga!" she said but got a jolt, like the quartz spark generator in a cigarette lighter gives when it touches your skin. She trembled a little bit but the action surprised her yet again.

"Not Meian-san but Meian-chan!" Naruto laughed softly. "For a centuries old sword she sure is conscious about her age!" he continued until the white stormy substance that was her blade began getting redder starting from the hilt and growing to the tip making Naruto laugh even more. "And now she's blushing!" he said laughing even harder making the adults join the boy while Hanabi admired Meian and Hinata tried to 'comfort' the poor sword.

The next day we find Naruto up at the crack of dawn inside the hotel's backyard practicing the sword techniques he received together with the other information from Meian when he landed in the fountain. He got the hand of them pretty quickly and then got the idea of combining the Juken and Ryuusei with the unnamed sword stances and strikes. He was well along his way considering that he kept the defense of the Taijutsu styles and took the offense of the weapon forming his newly named Kurohi no Ryuu (Black-light/Black-fire Style).

He just about finished fine tuning the basics when he felt a strong presence a little distance behind him. He noticed a man dressed in fine purple-gray silk robes and light samurai armor approach him. The man had long, grey hair, which almost reached down to his waist and the top of his head was wrapped in bandages, long goatee and equally long mustache that was split in the middle. He had a beautiful albeit simple sword fastened to his hip. Naruto proceeded to slightly bow to the man earning a respectful nod before going back to his training but he was interrupted by the man.

"Forgive me for asking this, but why is a child such as yourself so immersed in this deadly art?" the man asked.

"Forgive me sir but I do not know you enough to share this information with you! I do not even know your name." Naruto said eyeing the man from head to toe. He wanted to appear to be a simple man with a sword but slight movements and tensions gave himself away to the boy who had learned a long time before how to sense these subtle clues. The man appeared to be a force to be reckoned with. The blond had his Soujin Seishin activated and he also tensed certain muscles necessary for the Ryuusei and although he could never really take it to the level Hinata and her naturally flexible body could, it still provided a discreet defense at least.

"Ah you are right! Where are my manners? My name is Mifune!" the man now identified as Mifune answered.

This put the boy on guard but it also eased some stress. He knew about this man and his honor was legendary. "As in Mifune-sama, general of the Iron Country?" the boy asked.

"Indeed! I find it surprising that one of your age knows about me in this country!" Mifune answered.

"Yeah! I get that a lot. I am Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure!" the blond bowed showing the man the respect he deserves.

"You still haven't answered my question." Mifune continued.

"An answer can be difficult at times even though the question is simple Mifune-sama! You have your curiosity as I have mine. I will make a deal with you!" the boy then raised Meian and pointed it at the general "One strike! If you win I will answer your question!" the boy challenged Mifune with an expression that would make Hiashi proud.

"And if you win?" asked the man as honor dictated him to, even though he did not think that the boy had any chance of even scratching his clothes.

"My prize is the match and that is all I desire!" Naruto said closing his eyes and slowly nodding.

Mifune was surprised by the sow of maturity unfolding before his eyes. It was a noble thing to see the match as a worthy prize since most children would probably asked for a sack of gold or a mountain of candy and some scum would ask for women and booze.

The samurai bowed slightly and said "Very well but honor dictates me to tell you that I am a master of Iaijutsu (Drawing technique)!"

Naruto nodded and responded "Thank you for the information! I do not yet grasp the full extent of a swordsman's code of honor but in response to your actions I must say that I am your complete opposite in terms of sword techniques!"

"This I think will be interesting. Shall we begin?" Mifune commented earning a slow and careful nod from the boy.

The man then got into his Iaijutsu stance with the drawing hand on the hilt of the sword and the other on the scabbard gently using his thumb to push out the blade and his torso leaning forward. He really didn't want to get this serious with a seven year old but honor obliged him to answer to the swordsma… swordsboy's challenge.

Naruto on the other hand got into a very strange stance with his body standing straight up like a tree and his feet like a ballet dancer, left in front of the right and deactivated the bands. He was holding Meian with both his arms stretched to his right forming a straight line from the tip of the blade to his shoulders with the cutting edge facing away from the samurai.

Mifune thought that this boy was either crazy or an amateur. His defense seemed practically nonexistent especially his left side but experience told him that something was wrong but he brushed it off to the side blaming food poisoning or something. I mean he just couldn't fathom a child with such an outrageous stance could be capable of anything other than embarrassing himself or getting himself killed.

A leaf that had strayed from its branch and made its way to the middle of the showdown was chosen as the gong. Both swordsmen tensed as the leaf inched ever so closely to the ground and then

'CLANG!'

The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the dusty air that was disturbed by the high speed movement of the swordsmen. When the dust cleared we find a surprised Mifune bent forward slightly with his sword half-drawn and a very calm Naruto standing to his right, his body facing the man and Meian hovering a hair's width from the back of Mifune's neck.

Naruto then drew his sword away from the man's vitals allowing him to regain his position.

"I have lost!" Mifune admitted accepting the lesson in humility.

"Only because you underestimated me! If you took me seriously you would have had time to draw the sword again and it would have been a tie!" commented Naruto.

*Battle flashback*

_As soon as the leaf hit the earth, Mifune charged at Naruto aiming a well-placed draw strike at the boy's seemingly defenseless left planning to hit him with the blunt side of the sword. But the samurai didn't know that the blond left that side uncovered and a split second after the leaf fell and Mifune initiated the attack, Naruto jumped to the left and spinning clockwise making the general's strike land on the back of his sword enhancing the speed of the boy's spin and bringing Meian to the back of his neck just as he was preparing for a second Iai strike._

*End flashback*

"Maybe. But the battlefield does not take well to 'maybe's and 'what if's! It was a valuable lesson that I have learned today and for that I thank you, as well as for sparing my life. Know that for as long as I shall remain in charge of my country you will always have a home there and you will forever have a friend of the sword!" Mifune declared.

"You asked me before why I study the art. I will tell you now since you are my friend! It is to protect my precious ones and the ones that they hold dear! And for that I will become the next Hokage!" Naruto declared without a trace of doubt or insecurity in his eyes.

"I see! Then Kurosawa (his sword) and I truly do not regret losing to you and your sword!"

"Meian and I accept your defeat and hope that we will fight again!" Naruto bowed holding Meian as if he was offering it to the man.

"Meian… a fine name for a Meito (Excelent/Famous Sword)!" he said not noticing the tint of red the sword was starting to adorn.

"As is Kurosawa!" the boy replied.

"Well then I bid you farewell!" and the man left with a bow.

Naruto continued working on his Kurohi no Ryuu for the remainder of the morning before breakfast though he couldn't wait to get back home to start working with Shadow Clones again.

Three months after they returned from their trip Naruto started his lessons in medical Ninjutsu and boy was it a bumpy ride. Sarutobi got him a teacher that he could trust that he wasn't a Kyuubi hater. He tested Naruto's medical knowledge and capabilities like chakra control together with some basic jutsu.

Naruto was now heading to the Hokage tower to see his results. He arrived at the exact time he was called, said hello to the secretary and entered the room where he found three Hiruzens (two on paperwork and one in his seat) with the one in the seat talking to a beautiful woman with long blond hair and dark blue eyes and perfect curves and ample chest. She was dressed in white clothes that looked like a combo between business and track suits that was not too loose but not too tight. Near her heart she had the symbol for the Konoha Medic-nin.

"Hello Hokage-jijii, Tamiko-sensei!" the boy chirped.

"Ah Naruto-kun welcome!" smiled Hiruzen.

"Hello Naruto-kun!" shined Tamiko.

"Well? How did I do?" Naruto excitedly asked making the two adults giggle.

"Straight to the point? Okay you… actually I think Tamiko should tell you." Hiruzen said sheepishly.

"Well Naruto-kun as you know last week's test was virtually unlimited as with what questions you could answer and I have to say … you made me search for answers to some questions and even gave some answers that I tested together with my boss and you improved medical procedures. All in all I think knowledge alone and ingenuity could earn you an A-rank First-class medical license! You are only lacking experience to earn an S-rank." she smiled making the boy launch his fists up in victory but kept his composure.

"Your chakra control is also incredible considering how large are your reserves! I have never seen anyone have that much control since Lady Tsunade left when I was a trainee S-rank at least!" she continued making the boy smile even wider.

"As for the jutsu part well that is where the trouble starts!" she sighed making the boy frown. "Considering your chakra's 'condition' I can say that I am stumped! I mean Naruto-kun please show your chakra scalpel to Hokage-sama!" she asked and Naruto complied.

The boy lifted his hand and started to gather yang chakra to form the technique but instead of the normal green color his hand was colored by intense purple chakra that had 'barb-like' vibrating edges.

Tamiko then formed one herself but this one looked normal

"As you can see, because of the Kyuubi his chakra vibrates tens of thousands of times per second making his scalpel more like a chakra chainsaw. This can be useful for battle but in the operating room it would shred muscles and tendons instead of neatly cutting them. Also these vibrations have an innate spiking ability so while the quantity of chakra could be perfectly controlled, the potency can vary and cause tumors or chakra burns on a patient. Truth be told, I can't even rate this since it is a one of a kind case." Tamiko sighed when she looked at Naruto's disappointed face but decided to give it a go.

"Well no use crying over spilled milk!" she chirped making both males look at her like she was crazy. "I mean he is still growing and his chakra system may be formed but it's nowhere near mature. Who knows, perhaps in time it will stabilize but no promises! In the mean time I will teach Naruto-kun all that I know and figure something out later!" she declared making the blond smile and Sarutobi to nod.

Sarutobi gave her an authorization to take any medical scroll and books from the shinobi library to teach the boy since he didn't need to alert Danzo of the boy if he upped his library clearance.

Four months later we find the boy practicing his medical Ninjutsu on a fish.

"Right just like that Naruto-kun! Try to compensate for the chakra surges! Focus!" Tamiko instructed.

The blond's hands were glowing in a light purple with green highlights as he was trying to revitalize the aquatic creature. Sweat was dripping in buckets from his brow and his face looked like this was in some degree painful but none the less he kept trying. For a while it seemed like he was succeeding as the fish started to squirm but a moment later it exploded into a million pieces. Naruto grunted but later sighed.

"Looks like it will be fish paste with salad tonight!" said Tamiko trying to calm the boy down but to no effect. She later took out another fish and put it on the table.

"Shall we try again?" she smiled.

Naruto who was leaning over the table holding the corners with his hands grunted but then shook his head. "No more for today! Trying to compensate for the spikes gave me a mild headache." he claimed even though these practice sessions have given him even more chakra control than before and he was now able to form microscopic needles from regular chakra, a feat considered incredibly difficult albeit useless.

She then reached over to the boy trying to use a jutsu to lessen his pain but he gently brushed her hand to the side and then removed his practice clothes that were now filled with fish guts.

"I'm going to cool my head and wash these at the river! Fish number 134 made quite a mess. Plus I need to recover a little bit of chakra since Shinsougan and Soujin Seishin take a lot out of me!" he said smiling weakly before another Naruto poofed into existence.

"I gave him enough chakra for 2-3 fish. He will practice in my place." he declared earning a nod from his sensei.

He started towards the door but before he could leave he heard. "I DID IT! BOSS LOOK!" the clone exclaimed.

Naruto turned around to see the clone jumping around while the fish that was previously motionless get restless. He dispelled the clone and from its memories the blond noticed how the clone's chakra vibrated at a much more manageable rate thousands of times slower making it easier to compensate considering the boy's formidable control.

He then explained the situation to Tamiko who then agreed to teach Naruto's clones and then help the original in trying to compensate his chakra as an added chakra control exercise.

Two months later Naruto had enough medical knowledge and chakra control to be nearly on par with Tsunade and even started working in the hospital after obtaining his medical license. The only problem was that even though he was more knowledgeable and skilled than all of the med-nin there, his lack of experience and a little pleading from the Hokage to keep his skills a secret until he goes to the academy he could only obtain a Fourth-class hospital license that was the equivalent of rookie Gennin. He was little more than a glorified janitor-nurse. He would take care of the biological hazardous material, clean floors, change patients, clean bedpans. Since most of the doctors hated him he was lucky to be accepted under tutelage of Dr. Mamoru, the same one who consulted Hanabi that night and was one of the people who hated neither Naruto nor the fox. But the man still had to follow rules and could only let Naruto handle bandaging or a simple diagnostics jutsu. This was actually in the boy's advantage since he couldn't use Shadow Clones in the open especially considering the 'Ne' ANBU hidden outside the window. Of course Naruto was happy with just being able to do something and Mamoru would often consult with the boy ever since he found out that the blond was virtually a walking library having memorized all the medical knowledge that was in Konoha. They invented new procedures and jutsu together and the man quickly advanced to the position as hospital head and chief medic and offered Naruto a promotion but the boy refused telling the good doctor that he needed to keep a low profile and explained why under a privacy seal. Mamoru understood but still took Naruto as his unofficial assistant and even had the boy assist in some low level operations to give the blond experience where the man saw the clone team in action, from anesthesiology to emergency procedures, it was as close to perfect as he thought possible. He promised himself that as soon as Naruto was a Gennin, even if the Shinigami itself tried to stop him he would promote the boy to First-class directly.

(A/N: _Auu… SOMEBODY STOP ME! Long fucking phrase!_)

A couple of months later we find the boy waking up at the crack of dawn to get some morning practice. Why you may ask? Well because today was a busy day. It was his first day in the Shinobi Academy and while he by now power read through every instructional and educational material that would be well beyond his years he was still a little kid and was just as excited as one of his age should be especially since he was going to be in the same class as Hinata and Sasuke. Since the day they met Sasuke became one of his closest and dearest friends. Naruto even taught him the tree climbing, water walking and the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu alongside Hinata and they sparred often. He did this under the oath of secrecy after convincing the duck-ass boy that the Uchiha head wouldn't approve of their friendship. Sasuke on the other hand enjoyed the little bit of secrecy he kept from his father. The boy even started wearing weights just as Naruto and Hinata wore, finding them inside his clan's storage house covered in dust and realizing that nobody used them anymore. They even started a friendly rivalry. Naruto was especially fond of his brother Itachi. The cold looking Uchiha didn't fool the blond one bit as he noticed how dearly he loved his little brother Sasuke. They really had fun together.

"Naruto-kun, are you ready?" Yuki called from behind the doors as the boy finished changing into his battle clothes as they were called now. Since he came back he upgraded them with a Chameleon Seal that could change the clothes article's color to any one the user sealed or even combinations of that in moments.

"Yup!" the blond answered just as he threw his for now orange trench-coat over his shoulders and petted Miki goodbye with the snake hissing happily.

Naruto and Hinata left the compound with two guards trailing them in the distance. It was a personal request from the boy since being surrounded by a wall of milky white eyes tended to attract more attention that it was worth.

On their way they met up with Sasuke and his brother (who are still dressed up cannon style) and they formed a new group since they were close to the academy enough to mask their friendship. To complete the deception they even started a quarrel.

"Hah! You want to be Hokage? Get real idiot! There is no way a loudmouth like you can ever become one!" Sasuke teased barely holding in the laughter.

"Teme! What about you? Your clan is soooo great with your eyes that if a bug gets in one of them you start screaming like a baby 'Oh no my precious eyes! Help me! A bug is attacking me! How dare it mess with the Uchiha!'" Naruto responded being in no better situation than Sasuke

Hinata on the other hand was having the worst time as she had to pretend to play peacemaker between the two of them but sometimes she turned blue from the lack of air she was restraining to keep her from laughing. She even let her hair cover her face. The girl had grown it and now it reached the middle of her shoulder blades because she heard that Naruto likes girls with long hair (A\N: _He may not but I do!_). She wasn't by any chance a fangirl since she trained till she dropped, burning off excess calories so she didn't even think about dieting but she made small changes like clothing and hairstyle. Speaking of clothing she now wore a tight turtleneck sleeve-less light-purple dress that ended and mid-thigh on was split together with tight light cream shorts. On top of this she wore a lighter and tighter version of her original series jacket but without the fluff and she wore light shinobi sandals on her feet. She had a little help picking the clothes from her mother and from Kurenai Yuhi who came by every once in a while to chat with Haruko. Underneath she wore sleeveless fishnet armor that extended to just above the knees. Each of these articles (except the underwear and fishnets) were fitted by Naruto with the same seals the blond had on his clothes. All in all for an eight year old's standards… she was drop dead gorgeous but the person she did it for seemed to hold no regard for her as a love interest.

As soon as they reached the academy they waved goodbye at their guardians and they stepped through the gate with Sasuke and Naruto 'glaring' at each other and Hinata desperately trying not to laugh at how good actors they were though she herself didn't fall behind.

The group of kids that were either playing, talking or saying their goodbyes to their relatives stopped and looked at the entrance and what they saw nearly blinded them. Most of the girls were drooling with hearts in their eyes with some even fainting and foaming at the mouth. And why wouldn't they. In front of them were the image of perfection as Naruto's sleeveless coat let his well developing muscular arm in full view and shined his foxy grin, while Sasuke's perfect features and mostly serious demeanor made him seem like the apple on top of the tree that you just couldn't reach. Even their clothes contrasted themselves as Naruto wore bright colors and Sasuke darker ones.

The guys' faces turned wolfish and you could swear you could hear howling when they saw Hinata's slender form and beautiful facial features. One of them even thought of trying his luck with the girl and came over and started to bug her which annoyed her to no end.

"Hello beautiful! Why don't you ditch these two? They look like they have enough fans!" the unknown boy said.

"Thank you for the compliment but I'm fine with where I am currently!" she answered hoping that he would take a hint before he Juken bitch-slapped him in front of everyone.

"Oh come on! I can be more fun than these guys!" he pushed a little.

Hinata looked at the boys besides her and then giggled. "No, I don't think so!" she said making the whole area laugh at him.

"Fine! Be that way you bitc…" before he could finish his sentence he choked on his own words as an incredible amount of Naruto's KI was concentrated on him. Before the boy could pass out Naruto released him and he fell pissing his pants at the same time.

Naruto then leaned to his ear and whispered a couple of phrases that made the boy's blood freeze. He then ran away screaming for his mommy.

"What did you say to him?" asked a curious Sasuke.

"Oh just something Anko-nee-san taught me to say to idiots who can't take a hint." he smiled a sadistically making his friends shiver. They both met Anko and let's just say that she wasn't the most pleasant… creature to deal with.

They then inhaled deeply, taking in as much of the morning air as they could before they made their way to the classroom.

*End chapter*

Time for some *ding, ding, ding* Author Notes.

Next chapter will present the Uchiha massacre as well as a new development for our hero.

I will tell you from now that there will be no Emo King of all Arrogant People Sasu-gay. He is a prick but considering that he had to watch his mother and father get killed by his brother over and over again for 2*Tsukuyomi AS A KID (Imagine that on your own) I think would fry your brains anytime.

I will however have some Sakura and Kakashi bashing. Sakura was a bonified B.I.T.C.H. before Shipuuden and needs a serious check to cash in at her national reality bank. And Kakashi I just want payback for training Sasuke only during the Chuunin Exams. While M.K (manga author) may have did him good for bringing him Ero-sannin … actually scratch that. It was nice to see Naruto doo well with ONLY three fucking jutsus (Summoning, Rasengan, Kage Bunshin) it got old after a while (and no I am not forgetting Kurama's power). I mean after he learned the Rasengan how long has it been until he learned Sage Mode. Ero-sennin was a serious fucker. You travel with him for three years TEACH HIM A NEW FUCKING JUTSU!

Meian will have more abilities later on and I plan to make Naruto a space-time specialist not a Fuuinjutsu specialist.

Something else happened during their stay at the fire capital but I don't plan on telling you for a while.

All in all I hereby declare this fanfic officially godlike Naruto.


	6. NOT A CHAPTER! READ AUTHOR NOTES!

**SASUKE JUST DIED! **Got your attention right. This is NOT A CHAPTER OF _NARUTO OF THE SHINSOUGAN!_ It is a project that I abandoned from which Naruto of the Shinsougan got a lot of ideas but I felt like it deserved a little reading as well. Think of it as an unfinished Alternate Universe movie. Warning Time travel. When this side-story was published I was halfway through ch 6 of NotS.

**REMEMBER THIS IS A PROTOTYPE THAT HAS A LOT OF BUGS BUT IT WAS THE DADDY OF THE MAIN STORY! SKIP IF YOUR NOT INTERESTED AS IT HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THE MAIN STORY AND IT IS NOT FINISHED!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for.

Start story

Prototype Naruto of the Shinsougan – "Seal Lord Naruto"

"Kurama give me everything you got!" mentally yelled a certain blond teenager.

"**You got it kit!"** answered a voice within his head.

"Time to end this brat! Nobody will stop my plans! **NOBODY! NOT EVEN YOU!** the masked akatsuki leader screamed.

As the battle raged on the two shinobi fought for dominance. Screams of terror and killing raged across the battlefield a couple of hundred yards away from them. It was a titanic clash of the strongest warriors on earth. Naruto Uzumaki was battling Tobi known now as Madara Uchiha who was after the Ninetailed Demon Fox within our blond host.

They eventually reached a stalemate as jutsu after jutsu thundered across the sky and the earth. Deciding to finish it in one move Naruto called on his newly discovered bloodline limit (kekkei genkai) and started channeling Light element (Ranpu) from every corner of his body while the Kyuubi pumped his chakra through his body to back him up and the Jinchuriki made the biggest Rasengan one has seen (picture sage Rasengan ten times bigger) after which he compressed it till it was the size of a baseball.

He charged at Madara with the intent to kill. His speed was unimaginable but he was still running as he pumped all his chakra into his attack and did not have enough for a long distance Hiraishin jump.

His target Madara was in no better shape. He barely had any chakra left and was panting heavily. His mask was cracked and broken and two quarters of it fallen off, the one covering his Sharingan eye and the other near the left of his mouth showing that he was cringing. He had no more chakra to use his intangibility and barely enough to open a small space-time window.

Naruto used the fox's chakra to create 2 powerful Kage Bunshin that propelled him through the air many times the speed of sound as they launched him towards the Akatsuki leader.

Madara thought this was his chance as the space around his Sharingan began to warp like water going down the drain. Time seemed to slow down as Naruto was approaching his target when he began falling into the window. All his efforts looked like they have been wasted when the young hero screamed:

"SENSEI NOW!"

The man known as Kakashi Hatake appeared from behind a large boulder with his Mangekyou Sharingan activated and started focusing it directly at Madara. How did this happen?

"Recollection jutsu: Flashback"

15 minutes ago:

Naruto was pretty banged up from his fight with Madara. It was well over 6 hours since this epic battle had started. He was panting heavily and so was his opponent. Naruto barely avoided a full hit by the Uchiha's Amateratsu jutsu by sealing it inside one of his clones before dispelling it. He used this nifty little trick to catch Sasuke off guard then proceeded to pound some sense into him. The thing that was surprising was that it worked… in combination with some heartfelt words from Naruto and some proof that Madara had influenced Danzo Homura to order the Uchiha massacre when Sasuke was younger. The young avenger then teamed up with his former team mate but after 4 gruesome hours of fighting he was knocked out cold like an ice cube. Leaving another clone, Naruto used the smokescreen created by his dispelled one to hide behind a large tree only to find Kakashi-sensei standing beside him.

"What are you doing here sensei? You could get killed!"

"If my student AND hero of the Leaf will fight then so will I!"

"NO! Go to the battlefront! You could do more there than here … actually scratch that, this guy is tough I don't think I can beat him without help. And I have just the plan…"

After giving a rough idea to Kakashi about what he had in mind Kakashi carefully and wholeheartedly accepted it with only a tiny displeasure in his tone:

"ARE YOU CRAZY NARUTO? YOU CAN'T DO THAT! I WILL NOT ALLOW TWO OF MY CLOSEST PEOPLE SACRIFICE THEMSELVES WHILE I'M ARROWND! I WILL DO IT IN YOUR PLACE!"

"No you will NOT Kakashi! For two reasons: One I can escape his jutsu using the Senkou Denpa (Flash step – not to be confused with Shunpo from Bleach) and two only you can use that jutsu!"

"Ungh… you … have a point Naruto, just make sure you get out of there in time! YOU HEAR THAT! You may be the most powerful shinobi in the village but if you dare die both me and Hinata will resurrect you so WE CAN KILL YOU!"

"Ehehe... I'm not dumb enough to piss you off like that, MUCH less Hinata!" said Naruto with an anime style sweat drop.

"Let's go!" said the young blond!

"Recollection jutsu: Kai"

"Kamui" said the Jounin opening his own space-time gate to absorb the Akatsuki leader. That is until he got worried when he saw that Naruto's arm beginning to disappear into Madara's eye jutsu. That's when the masked man made the biggest mistake by looking directly into (and focusing Kamui at) the opponent's own Sharingan and all hell broke loose.

The two space-time windows destabilized one another and the power output grew to an unimaginable degree, together with Naruto's Rasengan amplifying the effects until it collapsed in on itself and exploding a space-time concentration orb that covered the entire Universe destroying its fabric and unwinding it leaving it chaotic.

In a flash of pure luck Naruto activated his Senkou Denpa at the same time this happened, hoping to get away from the blast but was engulfed in a light that could be best described as colorless without it being even white or black or a shade in between. Most (if not all) humans cannot imagine such a color and yet we find our young Uzumaki surrounded by a thin film of white light whilst around him was nothing than formless creation colored by that earlier described shade. He was tossing and turning and falling into something in no definite direction (as directions do not exist in a chaotic universe).

'Where am I? I can't breathe!' thought our young hero desperately searching for a breath of air.

'I need to get out of here!' Naruto was getting desperate until a slight feeling came to him barely at the edge of his senses. In one quick motion he gathered all his remaining chakra and some pure life force and mentally said 'HIRAISHIN NO JUTSU!' .

Once he felt he was finally out of that cosmic washing machine the first thing that he did was gulp down a large breath of air and was immediately met by a stinging in his behind. 'OUCH! What the hell?' he thought.

He opened his eyes barely only to be met by another assault on his rear. 'This is starting to piss me off!' he mentally shouted as he cranked his eyelids more to see a gigantic elderly woman holding him with one hand whilst the other was raised menacingly aimed towards his now swelling back end.

'Oh no you don't you old crone!' he thought as he bent his leg, hitting the elderly woman in the face.

"What the…? Spunky little one ain't cha! Sorry little guy but you got to cry to get the fluids out of your lungs?" said the woman as she went again for a third strike. This time Naruto took a jab at her nose. It wasn't that hard but she stopped her hand in midflight and took it to see if everything is still attached properly.

'Is this Oba-san (Old woman/Grandma) crazy?' "Wh…." Naruto's words were cut short when he began coughing like crazy but in a much softer tone that he was used to.

"Now I never saw this in my entire experience as a midwife! Instead of crying out the liquids in his lungs he is coughing them out! Either he is stubborn or he is strong… or both! He dang well hit me instead of crying!" said the woman whilst having Naruto near her chest patting his back gently.

"Ha-ha… there is no way a baby can hit someone that intentionally on his first day in the world, unless you say that taijutsu is hereditary since birth!" said a man whose voice made Naruto flinch. Our blond hero tried to face the source of the voice and started getting agitated.

"What are you doing little one? Stop or you will fall out of my hands!" the woman told Naruto getting nervous holding him.

"Give him to me Biwako-san, I will take calm him down. Besides I want to see him so much!" said a kind loving voice that made Naruto freeze instantly in surprise.

"Of course dear! Here he is!" the woman let out a small sigh and bringing him closer to the source of the voice. As they got closer Naruto seemed to hold his breath, his eyes getting bigger and bigger with every step until he began to see beautiful long red hair, a beautiful feminine face that to Naruto looked every bit as a goddess he could possibly imagine and a pair of kind, loving eyes that he only got to see only once before in his life. He was at a loss for words. HE the most loud mouthed ninja just looked into those eyes like they were going somewhere and he could not get to see them ever again. Time seemed to stand still until the young woman opened her perfect pair of lips to whisper:

"Hello my dear sweet little Naruto. Nice to finally meet you! I am your Kaa-chan (Mommy)."said the woman bringing a hand over his whiskered cheeks.

Naruto then did the most logical thing he could do … he started crying whilst squirming around to get his hands free out of the bundle he was wrapped in which after a few tries he did.

The woman lifted her hand of Naruto's face in surprise just as Naruto got his hands free. She looked at him with a little bit of curiosity as the both lied down with our blond boy still crying and crawling to his best abilities to get closer to her. She then understood what he wanted to do and pulled him closer until their faces touched. That's when Naruto surprised them all.

"Kwaa-cshan, waa, Kwaa-cshan,*sniff*, waa, Kwaa-cshan" he cried out but all of the adults present had eyes the size of dinner plates. Did an hour-old baby just say his first word?

"Kushina I know you are exhausted with giving birth but we need to get the seal under control!" said the blond spiky-haired man next to her with his hands on her belly when they spot Biwako together with her assistant collapsing on the floor.

"Biwako! Taji!" screams the blond man.

"Yondaime Hokage, step away from the Kyuubi's seal or your kid won't live another minute!" said a man in a black cloak and a mask with one eye hole.

Naruto looked at the masked man for just a split second instantly recognizing him 'MADARAAA…!'

'No it is happening just like my mom told me that time! It must be a genjutsu but why can't I focus any chakra to dispel it? What happened to me? Calm down Naruto! Dig deep for no matter what illusion this is you still have your Shinsougan no Jutsu (Eyes of truth), just dig, and keep going! Yes! I found my chakra. Just a little of it but it will do! Now, _Shinsougan no Jutsu_!' Naruto quickly thought and started moving his Ranpu chakra to his eyes and brain.

By the time he was done the Yondaime Hokage was trying to negotiate with Madara but the man was having nothing of it. Time seemed once again to slow down for Naruto but this time it was his jutsu that did this. His eyes shined brightly and his hair got a little lighter in color together with an almost unperceivable yellow aura.

The Shinsougan was a technique that Naruto created with his Ranpu chakra to combat genjutsu in all forms. It gave his eyes and his brain the ability to see all forms of electromagnetic radiation from radio waves, infrared, x-rays to gamma rays, even a chakra seeing and zooming ability that would put the Byakugan to shame and also by giving some to the brain it accelerated his perception of time by one to five hundred (1 second in real time means 500 accelerated) giving him valuable minutes to think but at a much greater cost of chakra. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but what Naruto was seeing was that his own reserves were about the same as mid-chunin's level where he would usually have more than two Kages. But that wasn't the most troubling. What was the critical punch was that his eyes were telling him that all of this is real and it is no illusion. Even the fox was gone and was now inside his mother.

'What the hell? How could this be real? I mean I know I remember me and Kakashi fighting Madara when that big fla… OF COURSE! I knew that basic Jikuukan Ninjutsu (Space-Time Ninja Techniques) book was good for something! It said NEVER INTERSECT TWO JIKUUKAN JUTSU or the space-time bubbles will collapse causing devastating effects depending on power, AND THESE WERE TWO OF THE FOUR MOST POWERFULL TEHNIQUES IN THE WORLD. And together with my Ranpu: Taiyou Rasengan (Light release: Solar Rasengan) it must have sent me back to the past. Damn, it's a wonder what 3000 Kage Bunshin that transmit any information they get back to the original let loose in each shinobi library of the elemental countries for four months and a super powerful demon's healing ability can do to a guy's brain . But let's get back to the matter at hand. Looks like dad is about to attack. Got to make my move now or never just that without hand seals since this body is not cut out for moving right now much less fighting I must use seal-less Fuuinjutsu. Good thing that they do not take too much chakra to make and the fact that I am... or was/or will be a Seal Lord. But I must still calm Kurama somehow to get him inside me… I got it! Just tweak that little jutsu ANBU use to see the memories of someone only in reverse, to show the memories of that happening and to share quick thoughts. Good thing dad marked mom with the Hiraishin seal, this jutsu is easier and less chakra used to do than my Senkou Denpa. Now all I need to do is … shit here comes dad!' with that Naruto ended his thoughts and plans for now and focused on the battle shutting down the chakra to his eyes.

Faster than a blink Yondaime snatched Naruto from Madara's hands.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu, I'm impressed! Let's see how you handle this one…" and with that the Hokage noticed that there were explosive tags on the baby's wrappings.

He quickly striped Naruto of those clothes and was about to teleport when Naruto disappeared in a flash from Yondaime's arms.

"WHAT?" both men shouted only for the Yondaime to teleport outside of Konoha, leave the explosive and return just as they exploded, all in half a second.

Naruto in the meantime was on his mother's belly just as the Kyuubi was fighting to get out.

"NARUTO! RUN AWAY! GO!" was all the weakened mother could do to try to save her son.

All Naruto did was stare at her with eyes that did not shine as those of a child, put his tiny hands on his mother's seal and with a flash of chakra say in a garbled baby voice:

„Mwindro Fugin: Rebese Mind Widing" (Mindo Fuujin: Reverse Mind Reading) all it took was a second for the seal pattern to spread in a five branch style mark that appeared to be going down a drain spinning into the seal. The adults were mind struck. Not only did the fox seem to have calmed down but a NEWBORN BABY just did a seal-less advanced Fūin technique. If that impressed them what was next almost knocked them out cold. Naruto then said:

„Sowwy Kwaa-cshan, bwut twis wis gowbing to gurt: Twensbwa Fubin: Kwuubi no Kitswobne " (Sorry Kaa-chan but this is going to hurt: Tensha Fūin(Transcription seal):Kyuubi no Kitsune ) and as soon as Naruto finished those words, nine pure white tendrils shot up from Kushina's seal from each having equal spacing between them and wrapped around Naruto who was lifted 12 inches off her and then a column as wide as Kushina's seal of very intense red shot from her to Naruto's stomach, and she let out a huge scream of pain whilst Naruto visibly hurt by this experience just bit his lip with his toothless mouth and stood still. In three seconds it was all over with Naruto finishing by saying: "Hwake no Fubin Swiki"(Hakke no Fūin Shiki) and a pattern appearing on his belly. Both Kushina and Naruto were sweating and panting like crazy but they were alive and the fox was now inside Naruto. The baby then slammed his hand onto his mother's belly and whispered something that no one heard. The next second a red glowing seal pattern appeared where her Kyuubi seal used to be. Kushina then began to get visibly better by the second.

Madara was first to recover from the shock of having seen a baby do what most Seal Masters could not. He teleported to where Naruto was and grabbed him like when this all started. Naruto's eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily.

"Don't move Hokage! Do not even BLINK or I will slit his throat faster than you can think!" he then looked at Naruto. "You little monster, you just wreaked my plans! Now you and I are going to go bye-bye and I will GET THAT NINE TAILE..!" was all that Madara could say before Naruto stealthily put two seals on him with his hands.

"Nibwai Fubin no Jubsu: Bodi-Chakwa Mahi" (Nibai Fuin no Jutsu: Bodi-Chakra Mahi – Double Seal: Body-Chakra Stasis) was all it took for Madara to be frozen stiff during which Naruto also placed a secret blood seal called „Kien Fuin" (Memory Seal) to seal away his memories of these events. He was about to seal Madara with the Kyuubi but felt his chakra fading so, Naruto teleported to his mother with the Hiraishin just before his chakra reached critical. She grabbed him tight not wanting to ever let him go. In the meantime his father charged at Madara with the intent to kill bringing out a three-pronged kunai aiming for his throat.

The blades reached their target in a slashing motion but phased through. Madara jumped backwards and was now panting heavily from breaking two seals and phasing at the last second did not have any power to go on. The seal on Naruto was stronger than any other so far plus his dad was protecting him with a full tank of chakra. This was so not his day, so he decided to retreat now saying: „This will not be the last time we meet! Hahaha!" before he disappeared with a swirl of chakra around his eye but could not shake the feeling that he has forgotten something.

Naruto was in his mother's arms when his father came. They all exchanged a hug and a couple of kisses, they were happy that they all got out alive after that one. But then Naruto remembered something:

"Kwaa-cshan, Tow-cshan, I'b sowwy…" (Kaa-chan, Tou-san, I'm sorry…) said a sad Naruto as this confused them even more than they were"…fow dwis:" (…for this:) and grabbing both of them by some exposed skin: 'Kien Kawari no Fūin' (Memory Alteration Seal) releasing a the pre-created seals on his parents.

After those seals faded both Yondaime and Kushina snapped out of a trance like state. They were a little confused until they looked at their son sleeping peacefully and naked on his mother's belly with her arms over him. Seeing this, the young Hokage placed a gentle hand over his son and his mother's hands.

"I'm so sorry Naruto for sealing the fox inside you! I hope that when you find out about it you will not hate me for what I've done to you!" said the blond man to his son whilst gently rubbing his back.

"Don't worry so much Minato! I'm sure he will understand that you had to do it to save both us and the village. He is a hero just as much as you are!" the red-haired mother tried to calm her fiancé. "Besides, I'm positive things will only get better from now on! Isn't that right Naruto?" she whispered. Right on cue Naruto used his tiny hands to grab both his mother's and father's hands.

"You know what I think he likes us, hehe!" joked the man now named Minato Namikaze.

"Yes I think he does, but both of us are tired and just want to get some sleep!" yawned the woman.

The Hokage picked her up bridal style and teleported both of them to his mansion where he laid her in a huge and soft bed and took Naruto and placed him in a crib that he unsealed from a scroll.

"Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, quite a birthday party you had today, but don't fret… I will protect you with my life!" Minato whispered to his son rocking the crib gently. Meanwhile…

Naruto was back to the body of an eight year old. He figured that since he had the mind of a sixteen year old but the body of a newborn, his mental self-projection would be like this unless he focused his mind to do something else. He was walking down memory lane (literally) and was heading towards the seal area. In his former life this place would have been a sewer but now it was a tunnel of expensive pure white marble with blue and red lines crisscrossing the walls, glowing and warping their shape. The red ones were wider than the blue ones. He saw more and more of the lines getting together and when he got to a door that he opened and entered a grand ball like room made of marble slabs and gold between them, with intricate seal patterns all over and more red and blue lines coming together into two huge lines going into what appeared to be a cage made of silver and gold.

"Having fun in there fox-face?" yelled the boy at the darkness in the cage.

All of a sudden a huge roar came from behind the bars that took all his will to defend against. A huge twenty story fox appeared with red eyes that glowed in the dark and nine moving tails.

"Geez, cranky when you wake up, ain't cha? Do you remember now what happened?" stated the blond jailor to his inmate and hopefully friend.

"A little and what you gave me. Thanks again for the save from that masked creep but why do I remember so little and I don't know if it is important what I forgot but I can only just recall parts including when we became comrades!" said the fox with worry in his eyes.

"Don't worry so much! That seal that I used was complicated and so I had to give you the most important details. I couldn't waste my chakra giving you the memory of you spending 12 years in a sewer with nothing to do!" spoke the boy, flashing a foxy grin. "My memories will leak out to you in time but for now, do you trust me and will you fight with me Kurama?" the boy now had a face that only veterans of the field responsible with entire squads in times of war could have. It was serious and confidant but hid the worry in his eyes.

Kurama didn't respond just smiled and stretched his fist through the bars. Naruto grinned and they bumped fists.

"Thanks for that because I have a favor to ask. I will modify this seal to make it appear that you are still trapped but your chakra will have unrestrained access to my system if you will it to. Can you use your chakra to jump-start my body. I mean by tearing and fixing my muscles and grinding my bones to make them denser, also enlarging my own chakra pools? Just make sure you don't spike to much or too fast when dad is around!" Naruto asked Kurama with serious eyes.

"If this new seal is like that then sure, why not. It would have gotten boring anyway in here so might as well make the most of it." and with a sigh the fox got to work building Naruto's body from scratch.

"Don't worry about that! We will be seeing each other a lot over the next year or so since I do not want to see myself getting my diaper changed." said Naruto with a foxy grin and scratching the back of his head.

"Now that I would give one of my tails to see he-he!" joked the fox as the two started sharing stories.

"Maybe later, for now we have a lot of planning to do."

"Planning for…?" asked the curious Kitsune.

"I don't know… maybe like stopping the Hinata kidnapping attempt, saving her mother from death, stopping the Uchiha massacre, befriending Itachi Uchiha, saving Shisui Uchiha, saving Haku and Zabuza, getting rid of Danzo and most of all planning for the FUCKING WAR that is coming." answered the young Namikaze adding a little bit of sarcasm to mix.

"Why you little…" Kurama answered with a grin but then that turned into a smile. "There is something that you should know. Have you noticed something changed regarding my person? the resident fox asked.

"Well you look, how can I say this… taller, more… massive. How can that be?" answered Naruto curious as to where this was leading.

"Bingo!" smiled Kurama before stating "Look kit in the previous timeline your seal still kept me but my chakra was cut by your father's sealing method. He took away my Yin chakra to keep me from overpowering your will. This is not a problem now since we are comrades, but I must say I was quite impressed by that way of thinking. But that was not the point of this discussion. What I am saying is that now I have more than twice the power I had in our previous life so we will, as you humans say… kick some serious ass now!" grinned Kurama obviously proud of that.

"COOL! And I thought you were strong without it! We will totally bring the future that Ero-Sennin, Nagato, and the Sage of Six Paths dreamt about! You with me buddy?" the young blond looked at his furry friend.

The fox smiled and held a fist out saying "As you humans say: Totally!"

"Say kit, are you bored?" asked a curious demon.

"Why?" the kid answered.

"Come in here and let's play fake chakra wars! It's a good training method and a decent way to size up your current chakra! Besides what else have you got to do?" Kurama stated.

"Sure! Here I come!"

"Bring it kit!"

Twenty minutes later an exhausted Naruto was on his back on the cold grassy floor of the cage panting like crazy. Kurama stood above him and said: "Overall, what are your statistics?"

Getting up in a sitting position Naruto explained. "Well, without Sage Mode or Ranpu element, I would say that my Ninjutsu is above Sannin and below Kage level, my Genjutsu is still pretty much nonexistent without using Ranpu jutsu, my taijutsu is still Kage level but I have almost no real muscle power or speed, my fuin jutsu is from what I can tell still Seal Lord level. But my chakra control is almost nonexistent and the amount of it worsened after the last fight, I would say around high Gennin or low Chuunin and I can still use Wind, Water and Fire elements. Overall I would say that I am mid Chuunin level without Sage Mode or Ranpu element. "

Kyuubi replied "Yeah that's about it. Don't worry about your chakra and strength. I will enlarge your system and grind your body so by the end of the year you will have it back to Kage level. And if that fails you can always use some of mine, especially now that I have my true power. I owe you that much and a Bijuu never leaves a debt unpaid. Also, too bad that you couldn't use Sage or Ranpu chakra, it would have been fun but I understand the low profile." while giving Naruto some of his chakra to help him recover.

The blond looked up to the roommate in his body and answered with low volume "Thanks buddy!"

"Don't mention it kit! And I do mean don't! I have a reputation to uphold!" snickered the red fox.

Naruto blinked twice and then they both broke into a good laugh.

Time went by as Naruto spent most of his time into his mindscape training with Kurama to keep his skills sharp. He was viewed by his parents and most people close to them as a child genius after he spoke his first words 'Kwaa-cshan, Tou-shan' at about 3 months of age and in another three he was speaking full sentences correctly with only a few problems, began walking at 5 and a half with very little trouble and at the age of one year and 2 months he was caught by his mother with a book that he 'borrowed' from his father called 'Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi', now that was a good memory.

"Recollection jutsu: Naruto Family Flashback"

Our little hero was very happy that he found where his dad kept the book. He knew he had it since that was how he named his son. It was on a bookshelf at about three times the size of Naruto's height. His father was gone doing Hokage duties and his mom was out in the back yard tending the beautiful flower bed. They were red roses planted by Minato with his son to show her that they both loved their mother and her hair which was her soft spot as well as a good anger starter.

He channeled chakra into his feet and begun walking up to the shelf and got the book. He use to practice this with a shadow clone. The clone Henged into different small animals and snuck out the room and into the woods training and after dispelling sent the information back to the real body. Kurama helped him big time by constantly enlarging his pools and replenishing them when he used a jutsu.

After checking if the coast is clear he teleported back to his room and begun reading. He knew the book word for word but he always enjoyed reading it. That's when Kushina entered the room and saw him with the book.

"Oh Naruto where did you get that? Did your Tou-san forgot to put it away again?" he looked at her and went back to reading. "Baby that book is a little too advanced for you (remember this is a Japanese world and their books are written in Kanji), if you want your Tou-san can read it to you when he gets back." and she motioned to take the book and lifted it from his hands.

"Kaa-chan, give it back pwease! I want to know wut happens to the Nauto in the bwook after he beats the bad ninja and bweaks the cwurse! (Kaa-chan, give it back please! I want to know what happens to the Naruto in the book after he beats the bad ninja and breaks the curse- he didn't have a problem with pronouncing words but he was a teenager in the body of a child, with facial muscles of a child even with Kurama's 'improvements' done to his body) said the toddler with eyes between pouting and puppy-style. He knew those eyes worked most of the times, but now Kushina was a little surprised.

His mother asked "Sweet heart, has your Tou-san been reading this to you?". Naruto shook his head from side to side. "Then can you read this?" Once again he moved his head, but this time the motion went from up to down.

There was not an ounce of lies in his eyes. He just looked like he really wanted the book from his mother. Kushina stood there shocked. When did her little boy learn to read? "Naruto who taught you how to read?". Naruto flinched at this question. He decided that a half-truth would be good. "I wooked at Baa-chan's book when she wed it out waud! I wearn it myswelf!" (I looked at Baa-chan's book when she red it out loud! I learn it myself!). It was half a truth because he really did look at Baa-chan's (the worker at Naruto daycare center) book when she read it and in his past life Naruto really learnt by himself by stealthily watching the book that the orphanage worker read to the children when she sat near the wall and since he wasn't allowed to sit with them he was lucky, as a hole was in the wall so he could hear what she said and see the book's contents.

It was half a lie however because Sarutobi Hiruzen noticed this later and took matters into his own hands and properly taught the boy though he didn't have much to teach since Naruto mastered most of it on his own.

"Kaa-chan, can I have it bwack now pwease?" (Can I have it back now please?) he practically begged.

Kushina snapped out of her daze and gave her son the book.

"Thwenk you Kaa-chan! I lwove you!" (Thank you mommy! I love you! )

"Can you read it for me baby?" she finally submitted herself to the fact that her kid was a true genius.

"Sure!" he answered and he began reading with his mother correcting and helping him here and there with his speech and telling him to slow down and enjoy the full story. He then said that he will be just like the main character of this book and will end the curse of hatred in the shinobi world.

When his father got back and Kushina told him what happened his eyes were as big as saucers and his jaw was on the floor when he peeked into his son's room. He then picked him up and kissed him on the cheek and told him that he could ask a present from him. Naruto flashed a mischievous grin.

"Well I say this calls for a present for my genius son." said Minato bouncing his son in his arms. "Want anything kiddo?"

Naruto immediately said: "I want pwactice kwunai and shwoowiken!" (Practice kunai and shuriken)

His father let out a sigh. "Naruto you know I can't give you kunai and shuriken. It's dangerous for you and other people."

"No I want pwactice twoy kwunai. Like my fwend Twen-chan has." (Practice toy kunai. Like my friend Ten-chan 'I'm sure you can guess who she is' has)

Now Minato was curious as to why a girl only a year older than his son was allowed to carry kunai to the daycare, scratch that, why was she allowed to carry them at all.

"Okay, Okay. I will go talk with Ten-chan's Tou-san and see where he bought them but if I think they are dangerous… pick another present" Minato talked to his son with a serious tone.

"Dweal!" (Deal!) answered Naruto as he was sat down on the bed and his dad teleported towards Tenten's house. The boy went back to reading.

Twenty minutes later Minato teleported to the back yard and went inside the kitchen to talk to Kushina.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"Well I'm not sure… These kunai and shuriken are made of plastic with retractable hard rubber tips…" and pulled one out he got as a sample pressing the tip inside the casing "… and you dip them into graphite (pencil lead) powder and let it fly at the target marking it. They wouldn't be deadly even in the hands of a Jounin. The only problem would be that they are for 3 year olds and above" whispered Minato weighing the pros and cons.

"Well that would be something to consider. The only danger with this toy is that he could poke his eye. It did say that they are for preteens and not for toddlers, but this toddler can already read a novel at his age. I say it is okay as long as we watch how he does the first few weeks at least and warn him about the dangers." his expert wife advised.

"Okay honey. I'll go and pick a set for him. Be right back!" and with that he flashed to the store and came back five minutes later.

To say his son was happy was to say that Jiraya only has a slight interest in peeping. They told him that he should never bring his new toys more than a forearm's length near his face and that for now he must be supervised while 'training'. He asked if he could start right now and Minato went with him. He took out an old training target that he had and set it on the stand in the back yard. Then he got out of the way and told his son to fire when ready. That's when jaws dropped.

"Honey! Kushina! Come here for a minute!" Minato called for his wife.

"What is it? Did something happen?" she got there running.

"No! More like something did NOT happen!" he was in quite of a shock himself.

"What do you mean?" she was starting to get worried.

"Naruto threw 8 kunai and 7 shuriken shots at his target from 30 feet away…" he said looking into her eyes.

"So..?" she was beginning to think that her husband was in need of some vacation … and a mental checkup.

"He did NOT miss the bullseye ONCE!" the blond man answered pointing to the multiple dark points on the red center of the target.

Kushina looked at her son who was wearing his famous fox grin and walked towards him. When she reached him she knelt down and put her hands on his shoulder looking at his face with an emotionless stare.

Naruto gulped and said "Did I dwoo sometshin'wong?" (Did I do something wrong?)

His mother pulled him into her embrace and kissed his cheeks countless times saying "No you didn't my boy, you are a natural. Even your father couldn't destroy that bullseye at your age like you did!"

"I dwidn't destwoy the bullsheye wet, but I can dwoo it." (I didn't destroy the bullseye yet, but I can do it.) said an embarrassed and happy Naruto. Both his parents asked "HOW?"

"Like thish (*this)!"

Naruto put his left hand and foot forward similar to the Gentile Fist stance and bent his knees. He then brought the toy kunai hand stretched fully over his left one, perpendicular in directions with a firm grip on his 'weapon'. He then let some kind of energy flow from his hand into it and just as he let it fly he started making the hand seals for Ram, Rat, Bird, Boar, and Tiger.

„Fuuton: Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, oops!" the oops part was that was not supposed to show the jutsu, just the wind chakra but it did not matter anymore. The target was completely mauled as about 300 Wind element enhanced toy kunai ripped it to shreds leaving a couple of holes in the wall of the compound as well as two frozen parents. He turned to them and scratching the back of his head began to laugh emotionally.

„Ehehe... Wouldsh woo believe me if I twold woo zhat wash a fuke?" (Ehehe... Would you believe me if I told you that was a fluke?) the blond toddler asked but his parents remained immobile. „Guesh not." and with a sigh he activated the Memory Alteration Seal in his parents and rewrote the destruction of the target as 'Minato showed his son the Shuriken Kage Bunshin with a real shuriken after Naruto begged him to show a 'cool' shuriken jutsu.'

"Too close for comfort kit. That was the last thing you could do to their minds with that seal isn't it?" the fox was talking to a 9 year old version of Naruto in the blonde's mindscape.

"Yeah. If I try again it will either break completely or fry their minds so that was the last arrow in the quiver." responded the young time-traveler.

He was brought back to reality when his dad said. "Sorry about that tyke. Let me get a new one and we can continue practicing."

He responded "Okay!" and showed his foxy smile.

"Recollection jutsu: Kai"

Another two years and a half years passed following a similar routine. The boy was now three years old. He started pranking his parents with light pranks like using Kage Bunshin to appear as if he ran out the door without permission and his mother to follow him a little ways before he went into some bushes and dispelled the clone and she ran back to the house and he was sitting reading in the library causing her to think she was going crazy. Though over the last 2 months he had stopped doing pranks inside the house since Kushina caught him taking the toilet paper for another one. She didn't hit him or anything but had a really serious talk about this and I mean SERIOUS.

Naruto saw why they called his mother 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero' as she told him that he acted a lot like her when she was a kid, but his grandmother had made sure that Kushina would grow into a proper lady and sent chills down the blond boy's spine when he heard the dreadful methods used to 'calm' his mother down and that she became really frustrated from these 'lessons' that when a group of kids her age were teasing her about the color of her hair she beat them half to death earning her nickname.

Naruto swore never to be on the receiving end of one of his grandmother's 'lessons in proper conduct', though that didn't stop him from a couple of harmless pranks on some of the neighbors who had taken a liking to the boy and his way of livening up the place.

Then one day Minato came home and as they ate Kushina asked him how was his day.

"Wonderful honey! I got some great news. It appears that lord Raikage (Lightning Shadow) wants to open negotiations with us for an alliance. He wants to send his head shinobi to secure this treaty!"

Naruto was surprised that he instantly choked on a piece of food that went the wrong way hearing this news. He began coughing like crazy to get some air. His mother landed a powerful strike to his back that loosened the stubborn piece out of his windpipe.

"Naruto are you okay?" they both asked.

"Yeah!" he answered and began downing a glass of juice. "Sorry Tou-san, you were saying?"

His father looked a bit concerned but he let it go and returned to finish his words. "As I was saying, the head Kumo ninja is coming the day after tomorrow to begin negotiations. And…". That was all Naruto needed to know. That bastard was coming in two days to kidnap Hinata-chan and he would be damned if he would let it happen like last time.

The next day he spent mostly in his mindscape evaluating the situation.

"Okay I have placed a Hiraishin marker near the Hyuuga compound with a delay activation timer for tomorrow evening. I have been working with both you and dad on my taijutsu and I can say it even improved a little. Of course I had to fake it with dad but he still showed me some good moves. My chakra control is still heavy and rough but it's around high Chuunin. I've been practicing my Ninjutsu and my Senjutsu in a forest outside the village with my shadow clones and they are now Kage Level. I have to say I have never been more thankful that I know Fuin jutsu that I used to create a buffer to stop any sensor ninja from picking up on my chakra spikes. Thanks to you my chakra is huge and once again thanks for giving me some of yours." our blond hero was reviewing the situation with the resident demon.

"What did I tell you about mentioning …oh never mind, so are you ready for tomorrow? Kurama asked with a serious face.

With a slight frown and intense white light in his eyes Naruto looked right into the fox's eyes. "That creep is going down!" .

"He-he-he-he, see you tomorrow partner!" and the Bijuu retreated to the shadows of his cage.

The next day things were in quite a commotion as a delegation from Kumogakure, led by the Head Ninja of the village paraded down the road towards the Hokage's office. High above the crowd on a roof , hidden in the shadow of a chimney, a small spiky figure watched them with interest. He then pulled a thin, almost invisible wire and from the other roof two fireworks shot towards the sky and popped.

This caught the Kumo ninja's eyes for a few moments but it was enough time for the Head Ninja to trip and loose his balance.

When he looked at what almost made him fall, there was a small blond boy with whisker marks on his face. He was on his back and was rubbing his forehead with his left hand while his right hand was standing on a blue ball with a small yellow spirals pattern.

'Damn Konoha brat, almost made a fool out of me!' "You okay kid?" he asked hiding his true thoughts.

"Sorry mister! I was chasing my ball and forgot to look where I was going!" the little toddler said while holding his ball in his hands. He was dressed in orange shorts with a white t-shirt with two red and black spirals on the arms. "Wait a minute! Are you guys from Kumo?" the little tyke asked.

"Yes, we are the delegation from Kumogakure and I am the Head Ninja!" the man smirked as he presented himself like the crown jewels.

"Wow, that's awesome! My dad always tells me that Kumo ninja are very smart and fast! Can I shake your hand mister?" the kid looked star struck.

'Heh, that's right kid! Your pathetic Konoha ninja can't compare to ours… except for that damned Hokage of yours!

A\N: From this point on I will write the names original techniques I created in English or a mix of languages.

"Sure kid, put 'er there!" said the man stretching out his hand.

The kid and ninja shook hands with one thing going through the toddler's mind 'Fuin: Hiraishin Hidden Beacon'.

They parted after the kid told him that he will never wash that hand again. Naruto (as you would have guessed by now) went inside an alley and unsealed some shinobi clothes that consisted of pure black ANBU pants and shirt with a dark blue Chuunin style flank jacket with a deep red and black spiral on his back, a classic black ninja mask and hood throwing them into the air. With a couple of Flash-Steps he changed his clothes in record time and took to the roofs and waited at the Hyuuga compound. He got as close as he could but still outside the range of any curious Byakugan. He laid back atop a tree branch and started waiting. He wasn't afraid that his mother will discover he was gone since he left a Kage Bunshin in his place. All that remained now was to wait until dark so he set up a surveillance area seal and waited.

Night time came and the seal was activated. Naruto woke up from his nap and teleported to a nearby Hiraishin seal hidden in some bushes. He then activated his Shinsougan Jutsu and saw a man coming around the corner with a sack about the size of Naruto. Being able to see through objects helped him make sure that it was indeed Hinata as well as confirm the identity of the kidnaper. He took a few snapshots with a high performance night vision camera that he 'borrowed' from a certain ANBU operative's locker after which he jumped out of the bushes in front of that ninja.

"Drop that girl Head Ninja-san or else!" Naruto spoke in a quiet but threatening tone. He could not afford to release killer intent since his is noticeable for a mile at its lowest.

"Quiet kid and get the hell out of my way!" he said afraid he had been discovered by some older shinobi.

"Not until you let go of the Hyuuga heiress, you will not be warned again moron-san! smirked the blond kid.

"Why you little dirty diaper! I think you need a spanking! so he dropped Hinata and took out his weapon which looked like a rapier style dagger with a simple cross guard and handle until the man flicked it and it grew three times the length and shape like an overgrown sewing needle. He flipped over Naruto and then charged it with lightning chakra and flicked it again in the boy's direction.

"Take this brat. Raiton: Creeping Surge!" yelled the man as an arc of electricity flew from the ninja's weapon straight at the boy. Naruto had his Shinsougan active and saw the attack slowly moving towards him. He wanted to Flash Step away but he saw Hinata some space behind him. He knew that if he went to save her he will lose the Kumo ninja and the evidence that he was at the Hyuuga compound even with the pictures, but if he went to capture him then we have deep fried Hinata. A counter jutsu was out of the question as this would alert all shinobi on in a half-mile radius. This just left him with one solution.

He moved his right hand over his left wristband and unsealed a three-pronged Hiraishin kunai. As the attack neared him, he slashed the air with the kunai creating an unstable pocket to subspace that absorbed the attack. Now it was time to end this.

Meanwhile…

In the Hokage tower, Minato was fighting a battle of his own with the arch nemesis of every Kage, paperwork. For all the genius that he was he could not find a solution to this problem. And now because he tried to skip it so many times he had to stay late at the office to get the work done. He was praying for something to happen to save him from this cruel fate when he felt a unfamiliar chakra surge and then drop followed by a Hiraishin kunai being activated. But that kunai should have been in the house and not the other side of town, not to mention that it felt like Naruto's chakra activated it. He tried activating Naruto's Hiraishin seal that he integrated it with Kurama's seal but to no avail. He was really worried and so he did the best he could he jumped to the Hiraishin point that was closest to the earlier disturbance only to see a ninja he did not recognize fighting a small black clothed shinobi with a red and black spiral on his back. He immediately recognized the suit as he was the one who bought it and customized it for his son.

Back to business…

Naruto absorbed the last of the deadly jutsu. He then bellowed in a menacing voice **"You bastard! Were you trying to kill Hinata as well? Time to end this! HIRAISHIN NO JUTSU!" **not loud enough to wake the neighborhood but loud enough so that his father heard him.

"WHAT?" the Kumo nin and the Hokage said in unison when the kid disappeared from his position in a flash of orange only to appear behind the ninja and delivered a strike to one of his Tenketsu (Chakra points), paralyzing the man instantly. The Head Ninja fell limp to the ground. After making sure he was alive he Flash Stepped to Hinata removing the bag over her head and checking her general situation when…

"Is she alright son?"

Naruto flicked around and saw his father looking worried at the two kids. Naruto's mind was going a mile a minute as he was sweating buckets, but the only reply he found was:

"Yeah s-she's good! Umm… Would you believe me if I told you that was a fluke?" the boy smiled a weary smile and then looked back to his father who had an emotionless face with the moon behind him. "Guess not."

"Didn't work the last time kit" Kurama spoke.

'True, but what now?' the worried boy asked.

"How 'bout the truth. I have faith that he will listen and we could use the help!" whispered the fox.

'I suppose it's sink or swim!' were Naruto's words as he returned to reality.

Minato had broken off staring at his son and was now moving forward to him. As he got in front of him he knelt taking his son's shoulders in his hands. Naruto did not dare move or even look at his Tou-san's face.

"Naruto, as your father I am terribly disappointed in you that you hid this from me and put yourself in danger like this. Do you know that you could have been killed young man?" Naruto only bit his lip and gained an even more painful expression. He never wanted to disappoint his own father, ever. "But I'm also very, very proud of you!". The boy looked at his father slowly as if he didn't believe him. His mask shattered and showing the eyes of a war veteran that had seen death and suffering with the face of that of a small boy not wanting to lose his father's faith in him. Minato was taken aback by this combination but didn't waver. "Not only am I proud as your father but also as Hokage of Konoha. You have proven your love for this village by defending its residents at the risk of your own wellbeing. Also you have mastered one of my most difficult jutsu at such a young age, how could I not be proud of you?" he then went to hug his son further but Naruto pushed him back. He could not let this charade continue on like this.

"I … I… have a lot more… secrets dad." Naruto said once again removing his eyes from his father's gaze. After a short moment of silence that seemed like an eternity to the boy, he closed his eyes and began crying.

"I'M SORRY FOR KEEPING THEM FROM YOU BUT I COULDN'T … NO, I WOULDN'T TELL ANYONE… NOT EVEN YOU! I'M SORRY! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!". Naruto stood in his place and wept with his head hung low. But this time his dad pulled him fast into the embrace. They just stood there like that until Naruto stopped weeping.

Minato took one more look at his son and wiped his drying tears. "It's okay, I understand!" said the man receiving a slow nod from his son.

He then picked him up and held him in one hand, gently rubbing his son's cheeks with the other.

"By the way, how did you give your mother the slip since she hasn't contacted me yet?" Minato smiled at his son.

"Well because of Kurama and my Uzumaki linage I have about 10 times your amount of usable chakra Tou-san.." answered the young Namikaze.

"Who is Kurama?" asked the curious head of the family.

"Take a guess. Here are the clues. He is big, furry, red, has nine tails, is twenty stories tall and is very, very cranky when he wakes up or gets bored." answered the boy matter-of-factly.

"KYUUBI?" the father's eyes froze in place blinking twice as fast.

"Actually, his name is Kurama. Kyuubi no Kitsune is a title like Hokage…" Naruto corrected his father "… and is a pretty nice guy once you get to know him."

Minato was blinking four times as fast now .

"But I'll tell you more tomorrow at your office okay? I think Kaa-chan is getting freaked out by you getting home so lat…!" Naruto froze in his father's arms when he remembered his mother.

"What's wrong kiddo?" Minato got worried.

"N…Nothing. That is if you keep this a secret from mom until you hear the whole story otherwise I most certainly will not be able to sit down for at least two months." the boy shivered in his father's arms.

Minato pondered what his son said. Why should he hide this from Kushina and why won't Naruto be able to sit… it hit him then, or should he say it WILL hit his son in the rear if his mother finds out about tonight. "Bwhahahahaah! I don't know, ha-ha, maybe we should tell your mother! he broke out laughing.

"NOT FUNNY DAD! And here I was going to tell you the secret to dealing with paperwork, but I guess I will just forget it since I am worried about my behind!" Naruto was trying to blackmail his father… and it worked.

"You have a deal kiddo, now what is the secret and it better be for real or all bets are off!" Minato looked with one raised eyebrow at his son.

"It's pretty easy if you think about it. It's the same method, or should I say jutsu, that I gave mom the slip with. Tell me… which jutsu creates an identical copy of a person and then transfers the memories of the copy after it was dispelled?" Naruto had an evil grin on his face.

The reaction was just as expected. "KAGE BUNSHIN!" Minato answered giving himself a facepalm.

"Wait a minute! What do you mean you gave Kushina a slip with that? Can you use it?" Minato asked, and as an answer he got another Naruto in his other arm, and in two seconds he was surrounded by a thousand Narutos.

After picking up his jaw from the ground he looked at the original.

"He-he, guess I overdid it, huh? the said blond was scratching the back of his head. After that he dispelled them.

It had been a half an hour since Naruto was caught red handed by Minato and now the little bag with the girl inside started to get restless. Naruto was the first to notice this and Flash-Stepped to her. By this time Hiashi Hyuuga, Hinata's father came out searching for his daughter. He then saw Minato near his daughter.

"Hokage-sama , may I ask what is going on here?" the Head Hyuuga asked.

"The Kumo-nin there tried to kidnap your daughter. My son was able to intercept him and incapacitate him. He will be taken to be interrogated by ANBU later. Your daughter is safe, if only slightly drugged." was the Hokage's answer.

"I see!" Hiashi answered then went to Hinata's side. "I thank you as the Head of the Hyuuga clan and as this girl's father Naruto-kun! I invite you and your family tomorrow evening for dinner!"

Naruto saw the relief and kindness of a father when looking at Hinata, but then flashed into a hard look. Naruto knew what was going to happen so he acted.

"Thank you Hiashi-san! While I do not speak for my father I would be honored to accept your kind invitation!" said Naruto in the most polite form of speech that he knew and then looked to his father.

"Me and Kushina would be honored as well!" responded Minato.

"Wonderful. I will be expecting you! Have a good night!" said Hiashi carrying Hinata back into the mansion.

"The same to you Hiashi-san!" they both said in unison.

"Ready to go home dad? Do you want to 'drive' or should I?" Naruto said flashing his unique foxy grin.

"Go ahead kiddo!"

And a second later they both flashed in an orange light.

Next morning the family sat for breakfast. Naruto was not worried about his father breaking the deal since he never went back on his word. No. He was worried about how was his dad going to tell his wife that they were invited to the Hyuuga residence.

"Honey, we have been invited to the Hyuuga household for dinner. Naruto is invited as well." he said it like it was second nature.

Naruto thought that his dad may be thinking of breaking the deal. I mean how could you brush off something so important like being invited to the Hyuugas. He thought that his mom was going to freak out and start asking questions.

"Okay dear, so no sushi dinner tonight." Kushina calmly replied.

What? Now Naruto was the one blowing a fuse. How could she be so relaxed, like they were someone of great importance to the village like Hokage or someth… .Naruto's head just fell face first on the table.

"What's wrong baby?" his mother asked worried about his action.

"I sometimes forget that my dad is the Hokage." he said with his head hung low feeling terribly stupid right now.

Both his parents blinked two times and then burst into laughter.

"Sweetheart, I also want to take Naruto to work today with me to see if he still wants my job like he ALWAYS says." Minato flashed an evil grin.

"Sure darling but be here by two o'clock so we can get ready!" his wife approved with a small peck on the cheek.

"Let's go buster!" the Hokage gestured to his son to grab his hand which he did and they flashed out of the kitchen.

An instant later they appeared outside the Hokage's office scaring the poor secretary. After a few complaints to move the anchor seal for the Hiraishin elsewhere and a greeting exchange the two entered the office and took a seat on the couch.

"Here we are kiddo, just like you wanted now… do you want to tell me something?" the father asked the son.

"First I want to tell you this: get rid of the guard dogs in the right shadow of the door and the one outside the window." Naruto said looking at each of them.

The Hokage waved at the two and they scattered.

"Okay now that those two are gone…" the boy slapped his hands together. Instantly the walls, ceiling and floorboard flashed with white intricate patterns that receded afterwards "Fuin: Keeper of Secrets."

Minato thought that his heir could not surprise him further but Naruto just made a 26 hand-seal Expert level Fuin without even using one hand-seal.

"I might as well begin with the first secret out of many." Naruto explained beginning to look away from his father with shame in his eyes and voice. "This is not the first time you caught me doing stuff normally impossible for one of my age." Minato's eyes grew big and a little worried. "I… altered your memories of those events with a seal. Don't try to search for it in your mind, I will cancel it myself but I need you to relax to prevent damage to your mind".

The Hokage was skeptical at first but he trusted his son with his life so he relaxed as much as he could. Noticing this Naruto formed a Ram seal and said "KAI!".

Minato's memories instantly returned of his newborn son's incredible performance and of his target practice experience. He was shocked. Not because Naruto hid this from him but because he never noticed his son's undeniable acts: Reading, writing, talking and walking at such a tender age. He was about to open his mouth his son raised a hand.

"Don't ask anything for now just listen and it will all be explained"

Naruto then began to tell him about his "real" age, his battle with Madara, the intersection of the two powerful Jikuukan jutsu, how he was blasted through time and space. How he ended up in his toddler body and from there on he told him that he already knew all there is to know.

"So let me get this straight. You are my son from the future…" Naruto nodded "… in the body of my son from the past…" again he nodded "… and in the future there is a war for freedom or dominance..." *nod "…of every living being on in the world." *nod "You were freedom most powerful shinobi…" he blushed and nodded "…but was caught by the intersection of two powerful space-time jutsu, a supercharged Rasengan and your own Jikuukan jutsu…" *nod "… and you got trapped in subspace until your subconscious latched onto your beginnings and your mother's Hiraishin imprinted seal…"*nod "…and from here all hell broke loose with that creep in the mask."

"Yup that's about it!" Naruto confirmed with the best natural poker-face that anyone could find.

"Okay… besides the fact that you were 17 when you came here I'm ashamed to say that I don't really know anything about my own son except that, by what he told me today and last night, he could probably hand me my own ass if we were to fight for real. Would you please share some details with your poor father, hmm?" with these words the Hokage flashed the kindest, most loving smile in his life. This relaxed the teen-boy sitting next to him and he opened his mouth.

A\N: Here is described Naruto's battle power (Skip if you do not want to read ++++++)

"Well… let's start with some battle capabilities. I have mastered the Hiraishin and combined it with the Kawarimi no Jutsu to create my own jutsu called Senkou Denpa. It is a limited range jutsu that I can use without seal markers to teleport to any location within the radius of my senses. The Hiraishin opens a tunnel through subspace and throws the user to the target. Kawarimi uses chakra to reel two objects in in and switch their places. By combining this knowledge I was able to open a tunnel to subspace and using chakra I reel in the portion of the space itself replacing it with my own. That is Flash Step."

"I'm also a Seal Lord with over 500 years of sealing knowledge and experience. Because of the war, the Shinobi Alliance formed and so we were allowed to browse the jutsu archives of every elemental nation. I used Kurama's chakra after we became friends and made 3000 clones each day for four months' time and have them spend time in each of the elemental nations sealing sector. Normally that would fry the brains of just about anybody but with Kurama's healing factor my mind was able to adapt at an early age to this drawback so I feel nothing at all when the clones are dispelled in masses. I form seals within my mind with my Yin chakra and project them in real life with my Yang chakra. Thanks to my knowledge I can do this just thinking of the effect I want and the seal forms subconsciously.

"For my Ninjutsu is mostly based on Kage Bunshin and Rasengan with a huge arsenal of variations about them from Shuriken Kage Bunshin to multi-elemental Rasengan. Other than that are the academy Ninjutsu ."

"My genjutsu is zero if I don't use Ranpu element. You see Ranpu was an adaptation of my spiritual energy or Yin energy to balance the output of the physical energy or Yang of the fox. It gives me the ability to convert chakra into radiation, for power shots like Solar Rasengan, directly as well as some other nifty little tricks. It has high purification capabilities but almost zero healing-factor and if I channel it into my eyes I can detect all forms of radiation including chakra and have better sight than the Byakugan but it's pretty costly but I used to have more chakra than all of the Kages combined. When I pump it into my brain it eases the stress on my synapses and purifies my mind so I get expanded perception of about one to five hundred. Also I can use it in its electromagnetic radiation form to cast semi-real genjutsu and hypnotism.

As for taijutsu, I have mastered Goken (hard fist), Jyuuken (gentile fist) and Tunade's personal style. Also I create combos with my clones and attack with them from all sides.

I also do a little Kenjutsu and I have evened out with three Mist Swordsmen at the same time but I lost my sword coming here.

Well that's about it if you don't count the fact that I have a twenty story fox sealed inside of me and we are like brothers. Besides the fact that he gives me a TON of chakra I can also switch places with him at any time and bring him out. So what do you think Tou-san?

A\N: (End skip here +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++)

Minato was about to faint. Forget having his ass handed to him tied with a silver string bowtie if they fight, he would be lucky to have even an atom of him remaining. A Seal Master such as himself could not have a snowball's chance in hell against a normal Seal Lord, much less a Jinchuuriki Seal Lord. That's like comparing a simple forest fox to the Kyuubi, as for the one trick that could save him, the Hiraishin, Naruto mastered it as well as upgraded it into his own seal-less jutsu.

"Tou-saaan, Tou-saaan, you there?" Naruto was screaming worried about his father .

The Hokage returned to reality just in time. "Yeah, I'm here kiddo! It's just … WOW. If you compare just battle potential between us now it's like a pebble to me and a mountain to you."

Naruto blushed at the comment but immediately said: "No dad, you are still the most amazing guy I know. You would give your life for your people and even use your son to seal a demon in him…" with these words Naruto's sunny mask came off and his eyes held nothing but pain now "… to help your home."

Minato didn't miss the change in his son. "What's wrong buddy?"

"It's just that… what I told you really happened the first time. That masked guy, Tobi, managed to get Kurama out of mom, put him under a powerful genjutsu with his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and killed you both and a lot of civilians and shinobi when you sealed him inside me.

I then spent my first twelve years of my childhood hunted down and persecuted because the people either wanted revenge or didn't give a damn. Besides Sandaime Jii-chan and Iruka-sensei, my academy teacher, nobody cared if I lived or died, with some doing whatever they could to make sure of the later.

Hehe… I remembered how, two weeks before my fourth birthday a boy was kicked out of the orphanage in the middle of a storm at night, and two weeks later, on the night of the festival of the Kyuubi's "defeat", cold and starving, living the weeks off moldy bread and river water was found by a drunken Chuunin, tied down to a post in training ground 77, splashed alcohol all over him and was … set on fire.

That was one of his worst years. The following eight were a lot more standard with the boy being beaten half to death every three weeks or so and getting stares of hatred from the villagers that made him feel even less than human trash. All this time he didn't even know why they did this."

All this time telling his life's tale Naruto had an absolute emotionless face, but his eyes burned of pain that could not be hid or held back.

Minato was staring at his son with eyes that defined shock. When he started hearing about his boy's painful past he clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails drew blood. They only got tighter as the story progressed and when the preteen said that he was 'set on fire' his own face lost ten shades of color. He didn't dare say anything. How could he? If things with Madara didn't happen like they did he would have certainly caused his son this horrible wound to his heart. When Naruto finished his story, the blond Hokage was weeping tears of blood. He would if he could, but right now only one thing left to be spoken.

"I'm sorry son! I'm so sorry!" he wept embracing his heir close to his chest.

"It wasn't your fault dad! I wasn't accusing you of something. You did the best that you could and nobody will judge you for that. I came to terms with my dark side a long time ago and learned the true way to break the curse of hatred. That was love, sacrifice and most of all forgiveness and acceptance, for those are the embers that ignite the Will of Fire!"

The father looked deeply into his son's eyes. He could see the pain of hatred and war. But he could not find a drop of deceit anywhere. In his eyes burned the Will of Fire that lit the faces of the Hokages before.

But most of all he saw forgiveness in his eyes, and painful sacrifice. To this boy the foe of today was the friend of tomorrow and he would be deathly loyal to his friends. He found his resolve in the man-child that stood in front of him.

"As long as the Will of Fire is alit it will burn through the Curse of Hatred! That is my oath and honor as Hokage!" said Minato with full confidence and strength.

Naruto watched as his father's determination soared, and he was damn proud to be related to him.

"That's my Tou-san! Umm… I have a favor to ask you. There are certain events in time that MUST not happen! I can't tell you about them right now but I will when the time comes! Last night was one of them. If I didn't stop the Kumo-nin he would have been killed by Hiashi-san and his brother Hizashi-san would have been sacrificed to prevent war."

Minato nodded "It was troubling indeed. Ibiki managed to get a confession from him but I'm afraid it might not be enough evidence against him and they will start asking for blood."

"I thought so, so I took his picture with a night vision and thermal imaging camera. His heat print (like fingerprints- the distribution of heat in a body is virtually unique to every person) was captured on camera holding Hinata, also visible on thermal imaging. It was taken with the Hyuuga compound in the background." smirked Naruto

"That should suffice. The captive nin will probably be executed to cover-up the event but war will be avoided." smiled Minato.

"About that, can you ask that he remains our captive as punishment for the kidnaping attempt if they deny their involvement? I don't want to cause a man, even the enemy's, death if it can be avoided." asked the young Namikaze-Uzumaki.

"Good idea! If they deny his involvement he will be considered a missing nin and his extradition will be left to our accord. He must have valuable intel that we could use. And of course if they don't then their political situation will crumble. I like the way you think kiddo."

"He-he, here are the pictures!" Naruto brings an SD card.

"By the way where did you get the camera from?" Minato looked at his son curiously.

"I "borrowed" it from Kakashi-nii's ANBU locker." the young blond stated sheepishly.

Minato started laughing hard. He would love seeing Kakashi's face when he tells him that a 3 year old snuck into the ANBU HQ and stole HIS camera. He then got up and buzzed his secretary.

*buzz "Sonya, send for agent Inu (Dog) please!"

*buzz "Right away sir!"

In less than five minutes there was a knock on the door. Naruto lifted the seal on the door to allow Kakashi to enter.

"You called Hokage-sama?" agent Inu asked.

"Inu, please for the current stay in my office I am demoting you to Jounin, but when you leave again you may choose to resume your ANBU duties." the Hokage said this to make sure Kakashi removes his mask.

"As you wish." with that Kakashi removed his mask.

On the couch Naruto waved. "Hey Kakashi-niiii!

Kakashi turned and faced the noise "Hey Naruto-kun!" he then faced the Hokage "Is this why you called me here sensei?"

"Yes and no. Naruto will you be so kind as to return the 'borrowed' merchandise."

Naruto got off the bed and went through his fox backpack. He then pulled out the former ANBU's camera and gave it to him. "Sorry Kakashi-nii but I needed it!"

"Whaa? How? Where? Why did you have it? Kakashi had a look on his face as if Jiraya decided to stop publishing his adult novels. Naruto saw this and the fact that he was holding the camera pointing to the masked Jounin's face and pushed the picture button. A quick Flash Step and the second memory card was in his hand and he gave it to his father.

Minato almost fell out of chair laughing. He then smiled menacingly and put the card in his pocket. Kakashi sweat dropped. The Hokage then became serious.

"Kakashi I trust you and I also trust that what I'm going to say now stays in this office until later orders. This is a low S-class secret!" Kakashi nodded. "You know that last night there was an attempted kidnapping at the Hyuuga compound?"

Kakashi nodded and Minato began telling the story.

*End of Part I*


	7. Chapter 6

Ch 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for.

Author notes

First of all 'the DragonBard' pointed out some interesting facts in the review section and I quote part of it 'Also, the manga author said that, with the exception of Sage Mode, and possibly Fuuin mastery, Jiraiya taught Naruto everything he knew during the training trip.

Also, we've known that there was more going on than what was shown, ever since Jiraiya said 'Don't use that jutsu.'

It's even suggested by the manga author (in an interview) that Naruto knows Hiraishin!

So, don't blame Jiraiya just because the author hasn't gotten around to showing what the training involved.'

If it is true then I stand corrected but it doesn't change the fact that we have yet to see anything more than Rasengan variations, Toads and Shadow Clones. I mean Naruto didn't even know his element (or what an element is for that matter and we know Jiraya has at least two- earth and fire from the Sannin battle) before coming from the trip (or he is just playing dumb). And I can't blame the author for trying to make his own story more interesting. It would be like I'm turning into a flamer.

To people that have been asking about the fact that will he be the '**dobe**' in the academy. The answer is No… for the first year, Yes for the remainder and No for the test. Sorry to the guys who wanted to see the blond kick some student ass, but it would kind of mess with the Sakura and Kakashi bashing that I have planned for later and I dreamt of kicking the shit out of them (in a figurative manner) ever since Ch 2. Don't worry people Kakashi won't be an a-hole for long and neither will bubblegum head.

About **Kakashi** I want Naruto to toy around with him but I don't exactly hate him. I read ch 143 and even the anime and I sort of agree that he wanted to do something, but the thing that annoyed me the most is when he went to train Sasuke and he gave the blond to the closet pervert (Ebisu - this guy may be alright since he acknowledged Naruto but I hate that stuck-up attitude) as for the pink iron board I just hate her for everything before the Sasuke retrieval mission.

I received a review pointing out that his **Kenjutsu** is a little too advanced right off the bat I have to remind you that he is a Juken master so he knows how to move his body also that he got the knowledge of swordplay from Meian like dispelling a Kage Bunshin and that he won the fight with Mifune with more luck than skill since the samurai underestimated the boy. (really why do people always underestimate him?)

**Be aware that from here Naruto shows what he learned from the gazillion books he read, what Haruko and the Hyuuga taught him about politics and the fact that he has a centuries old demon 'constantly' whispering to him. If that doesn't convince you then stop reading, this is my story and I think I kept him pretty toned down compared to some other fanfics I read.**

Previously on _NotS_:

"What did you say to him?" asked a curious Sasuke.

"Oh just something Anko-nee-san taught me to say to idiots who can't take a hint." he smiled a sadistically making his friends shiver. They both met Anko and let's just say that she wasn't the most pleasant… creature to deal with.

They then inhaled deeply, taking in as much of the morning air as they could before they made their way to the classroom.

Main story:

Naruto was a boy of many virtues. Kindness, compassion, forgiveness and many others were tightly inside his small frame. But the thing he didn't have was patience. He seriously expected the Academy to be a fun and exciting place. He expected learning cool fighting stances and military strategies but boy was he wrong. The first year lectures covered basic knowledge like math and science just like a normal school. The focus of these lectures was the glorious history of the leaf and the fire nation. And when I say glorious I mean heavily edited version. Naruto was already college professor level in these subjects so after the first week he got tired and started to follow a pineapple-hair boy's example and just slept through most of the lectures. This of course attracted the attention of his senseis who immediately started to chuck chalk pieces at the boy who thanks to his mastery of the most powerful leaf Taijutsu could easily dodge it in his sleep so he would usually move his head a bit after feeling the teacher's intent.

"NARUTO WAKE UP!" screamed a man with a horizontal scar on his nose and a small ponytail enhancing his voice with his fearsome Giant Head no Jutsu.

"Dolphin-sensei (Iruka) why did you wake me up? I had a nice dream in which I was Hokage!" Naruto answered rubbing one eye after yawning and two his left and right Sasuke and Hinata were chucking.

"Oh yeah? Then tell me oh great future Hokage, what is the answer to the question on the blackboard!" Iruka ordered while thinking 'There is no way Naruto could answer. It is a physics question well beyond his years. I asked it to show the class the importance of basic knowledge.'

"Iruka, don't you think you are being a little unfair?" a man with gray hair asked.

"Mizuki, you know that I do not take well to being lazy in my class besides…" "The question is flawed!" "…the question is fla…!" Both senseis turned to the source of the interruption finding Naruto grinning a little.

"Wha?" both men ask.

"You made a mistake when writing it! The third equation should show that lambda is a third degree polynomial not a fourth. This would lead to an unsolvable equation but if it is corrected then the answer should be 'x equals 7.1413228231, give or take.'!" Naruto explained matter-of-factly. (A/N: _Don't worry! I'm an engineer!_)

Both men shook their heads to the side in rapid motion as if to shake water from their hair. Iruka then went to check his papers and Mizuki looked at the blackboard where Naruto had indicated. Now normally the two senseis would just scold the boy for lying, but they both knew the answer and Naruto had given a few digits more that their memory served.

"He is right Mizuki! Down to the last digit!" Iruka confirmed.

"No way!" his partner exclaimed taking a look at the papers.

"Naruto how did you know?" Iruka asked.

"Dolpin-sensei, where did you find out about this question?" Naruto counter-asked.

"Well… I found it in this solved questions book from the Fire Capital College." he admitted while blushing. The class was in a small uproar that their teacher tried to trick them but were silenced by some KI from the boy and a look on his face that said 'MORONS!'. Naruto had precise control over it so none of it leaked to the two senseis who thanked the stars that they didn't need to intervene.

"To answer your question sensei read the back!" Naruto grinned.

"Hmm, let's see… '_This book was created by the combined work of the college professors mentioned above and our partner Uzumaki Naruto!"_ Iruka answered with everybody present going wide-eye.

"YOU WROTE THIS?"Iruka exclaimed.

"Not all of it but more than half! The difficult half!" he said with his head between his arms oh his desk looking half asleep.

"Please wake me up only if there are explosions involved, you talk about the Hokages or its lunchtime!" and with that he went back to dreamland leaving two very shocked senseis.

More than a month had passed since the introduction and Naruto still kept the number two position in class followed by Hinata. They convened to let Sasuke take the lead knowing how his father valued results more than anything. The boy was on his way to the Hokage Tower for his bimonthly visit to the old man. He had about a thousand clones in training and his bands constantly trained his physique so he had time to waste. He decided to surprise the man and thought of coming in through the window again. He ducked inside an alley and activated his Kagamiiki while making a Kage Bunshin to escape that annoying 'Ne' ANBU that was on his tail. He also discovered some time ago that thanks to Kurama his chakra tended to stick more than it should so this jutsu once activated didn't need a constant supply of chakra but only a recharge once in a while. So he could mask his chakra and go undetected through even elite contingencies of shinobi sensors.

He then took to the roofs and headed to the Hokage office. Once he got there he found out that the old man had closed the window and Itachi was there. They looked like they were having a serious meeting but the pained look on both their faces piqued the boy's curiosity so he activated his Shinsougan, Soujin Seishin and started reading their lips.

'_So your clan has decided to act in a week.' _'said' the Kage.

'_Yes Hokage-sama! Tou-san and Kaa-san will commence the attack that night!'_

'_Itachi please, you must somehow stall them while I prepare for negotiations! If they go ahead and attempt a coup it will be a bloodbath not to mention the loss of so many lives!' _Hiruzen pleaded.

'Coup?' thought the boy

'_I will do whatever I can Hokage-sama but I don't think that they will listen to reason!' _Itachi answered.

'_I will convene the High Council the night before the attack and we will settle this matter then!' _graved Hiruzen.

'So in one week the Uchiha will either be annihilated, exiled or will rule Konoha!' thought the boy cringing.

Itachi then turned his face towards the blond with a curious look.

'OH FUCK!' the boy thought but didn't dare to move.

'_What is it Itachi?' _asked the Hokage.

'_Nothing! I thought I felt something but I might be on edge!' _answered the Uchiha brother turning back to the man.

'_Very well Itachi, you may leave!'_

'_Hai!' _answered the Uchiha leaving through the door.

Naruto took this as his cue to leave as well. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he reached his favorite spot in a tree in the Forest of Death.

'Nii-san you there?'

'**Yeah kit I heard it all in your mind!**' Kurama answered.

'What should I do?' asked the boy squeezing his knees.

'**I personally think that you should let them burn! You remember what I told you about Madara?**'

'I do nii-san, but what about Sasuke?' the boy got tears in his eyes.

There was a moment of silence.

'**Maybe there still is a chance that there will be no violence. You heard the Hokage!**' the fox tried to convince the boy to lay low.

'And if not?'

'**Then I think that you should save him and his mother! How? I don't know, but we will think of something! She was a friend of Kushina's.**'

'Thanks nii-san!' smiled the boy and then took off.

Naruto that night couldn't sleep. He kept thinking of ways to save his friend. He decided to first gather information on the events. So he poured a quarter of his chakra into two shadow clones and had them cloak and trail the Hokage and Itachi when they were in the village. He found it easier if he Henged them into flies, one stood inside the Hokage's hat and one on Itachi's back. Thanks to Kurama's chakra his henge had similar properties as his Kagamiiki and could only be dispelled through a chakra pulse.

He found out that the Uchiha were planning a coup because they felt that they were cheated out of their place at leading the village by their rivals the Senju. In other words they were arrogant and wanted more power without waiting for it to come the right way, even though they were seen by most of the village as heroes close to gods.

He wondered if he should even try to act but he then remembered Sasuke. The short time they spent together they became friends and he knew the pain of being all alone so he washed away his doubts.

The days passed very slowly but he found out even more interesting things. One of which was that he was a stealth master as his clones passed through multiple security checks on board two of the most powerful shinobi in the village. Another thing was that the village actually had two councils.

There was the administration council or Konoha Council formed by the civilian part and the shinobi part. These took care of Konoha at its basic levels like law and commerce. The shinobi part was formed by the clan heads and the Konoha High Council.

The Konoha High Council was formed by the Hokage and his former teammates, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado with the unofficial (but most powerful besides Hokage) member Danzo Shimura, who decided immediate actions like war and other high governing situations.

And right now, two days before the Uchiha coup they were in a meeting together with Itachi and the boy's clones (unknown to them).

(Here cannon (manga ch 590 'I will love you forever') Itachi meeting with the council and Danzo memory except that picture two Naru-flies, one behind Sarutobi's chair and the other behind Itachi's ponytail. Too lazy to write.)

After that the fly on Hiruzen left discreetly and dispelled itself.

After going through the memories of the clone Naruto was boiling mad. He couldn't believe that mummy-man wanted even the children dead. He was slowly thinking about killing him but Kurama brought him back to his senses.

'**Calm down kit! In a way he is right. The only way to permanently kill a weed, in this case to prevent war and revenge, is to burn it all, the root and seeds included!**' the fox tried to reason with the boy even though he was seeing red himself.

Naruto remained quiet but deep down he knew the fox was right even though there could have been other ways to handle this.

'I understand nii-san, but if this is true then that means that Mikoto-san (Sasuke's mom) is also guilty! What do we do now?' the boy wondered.

'**We stick to the original plan! After we secure Mikoto you interrogate her to see if she is going along with her husband or is supporting him then we knock her out. If it is the later then we return her and hope for the best. Sasuke is innocent! Even if I hate them I will not let them corrupt an innocent's mind like they did to me!**' Kurama answered and the boy agreed.

The day before the attack Naruto sent a clone to the academy and went to the Uchiha compound. He was under cloak and was stalking the situation. Fugaku Uchiha together with the clan shinobi were gone probably planning for the attack or were at the Shinobi Police station to maintain appearance. That left Mikoto alone in the house. He wondered how he would get her out until he saw an adult non-shinobi clan member (A/N: _Description doesn't matter. Imagine what you want!_)coming out through the main gate and heading for the lake, probably to cool off since it was a hot day. As soon as he was near some bushes Naruto saw the chance he was hoping for. He deactivated his bands and in a quick motion shunshined behind the man and knocked him out with a precise pressure point attack. He then hid him under thick underbrush and whispered 'sorry'.

The blond then Henged into the Uchiha and proceeded to do some laps to sweat a bit and waste some time. He then charged towards the compound gate. He opened them with civilian speed and with the same motion went to the clan head house. Inside he slid the door open in a quick motion and making face panting sounds. He found a very surprised Mikoto Uchiha staring at him.

"Mikoto-sama come quick, it's urgent!" he yelled with fake concern.

"What is the matter Shimoto-san?" the woman asked.

"It's Sasuke! He is in trouble in the woods! I couldn't help him!" he yelled loud enough only for her to hear.

"SASUKE!" she screamed as she knew that she was the only one with shinobi training still on clan grounds and ushering him to lead the way.

They ran at breakneck speed towards the location where 'Sasuke was in trouble'. They got there in ten minutes and the woman's motherly instincts clouded her senses to notice that she was a good way inside training ground 44 (Forrest of Death).

They got to a place surrounded by thick vegetation and tall massive trees when Naruto said "Here we are!"

The woman's shinobi instincts immediately kicked in and she went to a defensive position but before she can act Naruto in disguise lifted a half-seal and activated the trap-seals positioned on four nearby trees.

"Wha?" the woman screamed feeling her chakra and movements sealed away.

"What is the meaning of this Shimoto-san? Wait! You are not Shimoto! Who are you and what do you want?' she spat out.

"Who am I is none of your business! As for what I want is a friendly conversation! These seals will knock you out if you try to scream!" the boy smirked. "I want to ask you if you will take part in tomorrow's coup attempt and if you will do it on your own accord or if you were forced to take part." Naruto said emotionlessly. "I must warn you that I will know if you lie!"

"What coup?" she asked faking ignorance.

"I told you not to lie to me! I know about how your arrogant husband and clansmen want to provoke the loss of so many innocent lives for power and that it will happen tomorrow! I must tell you that the Hokage also knows about this and tried to bring peace by negotiation but Danzo went behind his back and ordered Itachi to massacre your entire clan even the children, except Sasuke!" Naruto said trying his best to maintain his emotionless state.

"No!" the woman whispered while trembling.

"I'm afraid it is so! Itachi is a Konoha shinobi."

Mikoto started crying while keeping still as the seals prevented her from moving. "I told Fugaku that this will happen. I didn't want any of this but he still went through with it! Damn it! Damn iiit!" she sobbed more to herself than confessing.

"That is all I wanted to hear!" Naruto closed his eyes.

"WAIT! What happens now?" she asked the man in front of her.

"Now I will knock you out and leave you here until it is over! I'm truly sorry but I cannot do more than this! After that it will be up to you and Sasuke … and his sister?" the boy was surprised at the last part having found out just now thanks to his Shinsougan.

"WHAT?" she shouted looking just as surprised.

"It seems that you carry a girl, congratulations!" answered the boy making the woman pale. "It will be your job to make sure that the curse of hatred doesn't spread to your children. Know this! If any Uchiha dares to move against Konoha while I'm alive I will kill them without a second thought!" Naruto repeated the words that Kurama whispered in his head, bluffing the last part.

"NO! I will make sure that they live to love our village just as much as I do but please spare the children!" she said in full honesty.

"I'm sorry!" Naruto swayed his head from left to right. "It is beyond my power! But if you want to blame anyone, blame me! Don't blame the Hokage, he tried to prevent this with all his might!" Naruto had a tear in his eye as the emotionless mask shattered.

Mikoto stood motionless and looked at his eyes. She saw regret almost written on his face. She then took a deep breath and thought for a bit over their conversation. She then realized something.

"I can't!" she said making the boy cringe. "I can't blame you or the Hokage if what you say is true! I can't even blame the council!" she said making the man in front of her look at her like she was crazy. "Don't look at me like that! I was a shinobi, I know how it all works! But to kill the children…" she said taking a deep sad breath "…DANZZZOOO!" growling the last part.

"Please don't do anything rash or it will be your young ones who suffer!" Naruto repeated Kurama's words again. "He will face justice and if anyone of you wants then we can make sure that you will be the headsman, _believe it _(-ttebayo)! I wish you pleasant dreams!" Naruto said making a half-sign knocking the woman out cold. He then placed a piece of paper on her forehead that had strange symbols around the middle kanji that said sleep.

Naruto then focused chakra in his hand and slammed it into the ground and a huge komodo dragon, twice the size of a normal adult appeared. (A/N _Remember, the dragon summons don't require blood or hand-signs_)

"What is your will Naruto-sama?" the beast asked.

"Komi, protect this woman until she wakes up!" he said moving Mikoto to a nearby cave.

"Hai!" the dragon answered and positioned himself in the shadows of the cave's entrance.

(A/N _I know that komodo dragons are big lizards, or something like that, not actual dragons but whatever works, works!_)

Naruto returned to the compound under cloak and did his best to hide his chakra chakra. He stood inside a gap between two roofs in case hell broke loose. Kurama told him to leave since it was not something he should see. Naruto reassured him that he knew about the wheel of life and that nobody escapes the Shinigami but deep down he also knew that seeing someone's life drain before your eyes was not something anyone should experience.

That evening he was awakened by screaming. He rushed to the place where it all began but found that everybody had been already killed, children included but there seemed to be far less people than there were usually in the clan. He desperately fought the urge to throw up and since he couldn't use his chakra to block the feeling he remembered his hospital training to get him used to seeing blood and guts. He then began to breathe deeply and managed to get his stomach under control. He then rushed back to the main house, Shinsougan activated by a seal that stored chakra he put on himself behind his right ear earlier that day, in fear of being found out if he spiked his own.

Inside he found Itachi drawing his sword out of his father's back and crying. After a few moments he noticed a distortion forming besides the boy and a man coming out of it. He had long spiky black hair, was wearing a black trench coat with a sash and a one-eye mask with strange patterns. The boy cursed that he didn't have the possibility to activate Soujin Seishin. What made the boy even more curious was the fact that he couldn't see behind the man's mask and thus couldn't read his lips. Kurama began trembling in pure rage inside the mindscape.

'Kit it's him! It's that mind rapist that killed your parents and set me on a collision path with Konoha. It's Madara!' Kurama mentally screamed.

'THAT'S MADARA?' Naruto thought and narrowed his eyes. 'Damn, if only I could know what they are saying!' he continued but then Madara disappeared through the same distortion. He then reappeared at the site of the massacre and opened the distortion sucking in all bodies, including that of Fugaku, and then reappearing beneath the spot where Naruto was at. The boy was breathing as quietly as he could and was thankful for the meditation exercises that Hiashi showed him.

"Alright that was all of them! I will take my leave now!" Madara said in a very cold tone.

"What about my mother?" Itachi asked with barely dried tears.

"It makes no difference." The Uchiha ancient answered.

"She knows about the coup! It could have devastating consequences for my plan." Itachi responded.

"No it won't! Maybe Danzo got to her like your friend Shisui. Besides, she does not know that you are the traitor or of my involvement. If she ever figures out anything, people will just brush it off as mental trauma due to losing her husband. Like I said, it makes no difference. Also she may prove a lifeline for your little brother if she's alive." the man retorted.

Itachi nodded and went to hiding with Madara disappearing just as the seal on Naruto's ear began to tingle. That was the sign that there was little to no more chakra in it so the boy deactivated his eye jutsu and the seal faded out of existence. The blond knew that he couldn't stay there much longer as the silence would put Itachi on guard and he had a disadvantage since he couldn't trail Itachi from a distance without the Shinsougan, since his cloak affected sight not sound, so he left the compound running towards his apartment.

He would periodically visit the place to clean up and stock up the supplies in preservation seals that were littered all over. It was his safe haven. He reached the door and bit his thumb and smeared blood on the door knob. The blood reacted with something and lit up like a Christmas tree before a click sound was heard and Naruto entered his apartment.

He threw his coat on a chair and went into the furthest corner of his bet and curled up in a thinking pose.

'I hope we did the right thing!' thought the boy.

'Don't worry kit! We did all that we could. Let's just hope for the best!' Kurama comforted the blond.

'You always know how to cheer me up nii-san!' Naruto whispered before falling asleep.

'Good night Naruto!'

The next day Naruto got up at the crack of dawn, ate breakfast had a quick shower and got dressed, all in half an hour. He created two shadow clones, one of which he sent to the Hyuuga compound and eventually to the academy. The other one he had it cloak itself and sent it to the Hokage tower to get the latest info.

He hid from sight and moving in the shadows quickly he got to the hospital. It was still early so it was not crowded. He walked inside since he still had medical clearance, where he was greeted by the receptionist. During Naruto's practice time for his license they had gotten close and she eventually saw the bright side of the boy much like Chizuru.

"Good morning Ayumi-san! I see you got the graveyard shift again!" he chirped.

Ayumi let out a long yawn and then smiled at the boy "Good morning Naruto-sensei!" she answered (A/N: _Sensei means teacher or doctor!_). She knew of the boy's talent from Dr. Mamoru and had been quite impressed with his achievements.

"Anything out of the usual happen?" the boy asked faking ignorance.

"You won't believe it! The whole Uchiha clan has been massacred! There is only one survivor, Uchiha Sasuke!" she said and the boy frowned remembering last night but it also meant that Mikoto hadn't been found yet even though the seal should have dissolved by the time he woke up. Training ground 44 was a treacherous place but she was a shinobi and Komi was with her in the shadows. That means she will be here any minute now.

"No way!" he shouted faking surprise.

"For now this is a secret for anyone except hospital staff so please keep it down!" she whispered.

"I see! I would like to see the survivor!" he answered.

"He is in room 627. He has just woken up and seems to be traumatized by the event so he might be a little jumpy. The ANBU said that he had contact with the murderer!"

"_I doubt it!_" Naruto whispered.

"What?"

"Thank you!" he answered and then went to Sasuke's room.

He stood in front of the door dressed in his hospital uniform. The boy thought of what he should say and how to comfort him for the loss of his father and brother. Inhaling deeply he opened the door and found Sasuke in a sitting position on his bed looking like he was about to kill himself. The blond also noticed that no ANBU guard had been stationed around him confirming his thoughts that the Hokage had already been informed by Danzo of his actions.

Sasuke took a quick look at Naruto showing intense pain and regret, but also anger beyond his years.

"Hey there Sasuke! How are you feeling?" the boy asked in a somewhat happy tone.

"What do you want Naruto?" he grunted.

"Well as a doctor I want to see how your body is doing… and as your friend I want to check on your spirit!" Naruto answered with a kind smile.

"How am I doing?" Sasuke growled "HOW AM I DOING?" the duck-ass yelled. "HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M DOING? MY WHOLE FAMILY, MY WHOLE CLAN HAS BEEN MURDERED BY ITACHI! HOW THE FUCK SHOULD I FEEL!"

"I'm sorry Sasuke! But don't lose hope just…" Naruto wanted to tell the boy but got interrupted.

"Hope? What hope? I have no family Naruto! Not anymore!" Sasuke growled.

"I wouldn't say that! They haven't found Mikoto-san's bod…" Naruto wanted to give some light to the boy's heart when the doors burst open.

"SASUKE!" Mikoto screamed and rushed to hug the boy.

"No! It can't be! HE KILLED YOU! I SAW HIM SLICE YOUR HEAD OFF!" Sasuke struggled in her imbrace.

"No Sasuke, he didn't! He tricked you! I'm here baby!" she cried to him not letting go.

"K…Kaaa-saan!" Sasuke calmed down enough to see that this was real.

Naruto wanted to leave the two to share the family moment but remembered that she was pregnant.

"Mikoto-san I'm sorry for interrupting you two but you have to have a medical check-up done! Standard procedure!" he said and she frowned a bit but nodded in consent.

Sasuke on the other hand looked like he kissed the Shinigami. Naruto noticed this and said.

"Don't worry Sasuke! She will be safe, _believe it(-ttebayo)_!" he said smiling and going out through the door with the woman not noticing that she looked at him like she struck gold.

As soon as they closed the door Naruto led her to the examination room but right after they made the corner she stopped moving and looked at the boy with an emotionless face.

"Thank you!" she said.

"No problem ma'am, just doing my job!" the blond chirped.

"Not for this, but for saving me so I can take care of Sasuke!" she continued and the boy went pale on the inside but kept his smiling face on the outside. He thanked the heavens for his training sessions with Hiashi.

"I'm not sure I understand Mikoto-san!" he kept his face.

"Don't play dumb! I also know when people especially boys lie! Part of the advantage of being a mother!" she cringed. "Besides nobody else in this village uses '-ttebayo' at the end of his sentences. It was you who hid me from the Itachi!"

'Damn!' Naruto thought if he should keep lying or come clean. He decided that hiding would be too much of a hustle if she should go to the Hokage.

"I thought that that word would get me into trouble one day!" he confessed.

"So it was you!". She tried to convince herself that she was knocked out by a boy the same age as Sasuke.

"Yes but please keep it down! I don't want any trouble with the Hokage and besides we still have to take care of Sasuke's unborn sister matter!" he tried to keep his cool but then.

"WHAT?". They both looked at the source of the scream and found out that it was Sasuke who had gotten out of bed. "Naruto, what do you mean 'unborn sister' and what does Kaa-san mean that you hid her from Itachi?" he all but screamed.

Naruto thought for a second and answered. "I will tell you Sasuke but if you raise your tone for any matter I will knock you out and keep you sedated for a week!" he said adding a little bit of KI to make his point. Sasuke took a small step back and nodded.

"First of all congratulations Sasuke, you are going to be an older brother!" the blond chirped before becoming serious. "And second of all it is as you heard. I hid her to keep her from getting killed! I will not say anything more than this, not here and now! Eventually but until then keep calm and we will explain everything to you! After you get discharged!" Naruto looked at Mikoto who nodded.

"I don't like it but I trust you Naruto! But if you are working with Itachi I swear I will kill you!" he growled.

"SASUKE!" Mikoto admonished him making him yelp in surprise and return to his room.

'Oh boy!' thought both the blond and the woman.

After the check-up revealed that Mikoto was seven weeks into the pregnancy and that both mother and baby were healthy.

As soon as they were finished they left, heading for Naruto's apartment as they couldn't return to the compound because of the 'investigations' going on there which were nothing but a charade to maintain appearance that the Leaf had nothing to do with the massacre.

Inside the apartment Naruto closed the door and the curtains and after checking that no troublesome Ne ANBU were around he sealed it shut with the 'Keeper of Secrets' seal that he invented. It was an advanced form of the Tomb of Secrets that now had a function of mixing and covering words to make them indescribable to confuse spies.

Once it was done and the two 'last' Uchiha picked their jaws off the floor Mikoto and Naruto told Sasuke the truth and he took it with great maturity and understanding.

"Wha? Who? But… my brother!" he kept repeating.

"Sorry Sasuke but it is the truth! Your brother probably showed you that genjutsu so that you would keep on loving the leaf and hate only him! He entrusted you with the future of the Uchiha but he didn't expect Mikoto and his sister!" Naruto tried to reason with him.

"But why would he do it? Why would he kill father?" Sasuke sobbed.

"Because it would have the same effect!" Naruto answered casually making the duck-ass look directly at him in surprise.

"I don't know what triggered your father's thoughts that he could succeed but he couldn't have been more wrong!" Naruto got into a thinking pose.

"WHAT?" Sasuke shouted.

"Look I know that your clan… was powerful but how many were there of you 50, 100?" Naruto brutally asked.

"What does that have to…" Sasuke was getting nervous.

"Your clan always prided themselves that one of you was worth ten normal shinobi! But even so, there are approximately four thousand active shinobi in the village who are loyal to the Hokage not to mention the old man himself! Do the math and don't be arrogant! Even an Uchiha can bleed, I have healed a few myself!" Naruto explained.

"But… but!" Sasuke was choking on reality.

"It's true Sasuke! I also told your father that but he just wouldn't listen to me!" Mikoto was all but crying.

"I understand… but what about my brother?" Sasuke was really confused.

"That is up to you but know this! He sacrificed his freedom and much of his humanity in a deal to save you!" Naruto told Sasuke who looked surprised … and in pain.

"If you want to blame somebody, blame me!" Naruto retorted making the duck-ass even more surprised. "I wasn't strong enough to prevent this!" Naruto continued.

"Don't you even dare to say such a thing again!" shouted Mikoto. "I already told you that it could not be avoided! Even you said it yourself!"

"But I couldn't even save the young ones!" Naruto cringed.

"QUIET! You are a child yourself! How could anyone even think about accusing you!" the woman continued. "If anyone is to blame it is that fossil Danzo!" she clutched her fist.

"I'm going to kill him!" Sasuke growled.

"No you will not!" Mikoto and Naruto said in unison.

"He is too dangerous to be fought in an open war!" Mikoto told the boy.

"But…"

"No 'buts' young man!" Mikoto shouted at him making Naruto think 'Mothers are scary!'.

"She is right Sasuke! You can't go against him like that! I mean look at what happened to your family!" Naruto hit a soft spot more by mistake then on purpose.

"I SEE what he did Naruto! That's why I have to kill him!" the duck-ass was still stubborn.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the collar "No you don't see anything you damn brat! You don't see the arrogance that Fugaku instilled in you! You don't see what it is turning you into! You don't even see your brother's sacrifice! All you see is revenge because you have been wronged! And after you have your revenge? What will you have left? I'll tell you what, an empty space in your heart! And what about those that will come after you when you have completed your revenge? Will you accept their justice and die or will you kill them? WELL?"

Sasuke snapped "BRAT? HOW DARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE PAIN I AM FEELING RIGHT NOW? DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW IT FEELS LIKE TO LOSE YOUR FAMILY EXCEPT FOR ONE AND FOR YOUR BROTHER TO BE WRONNGED SO MUCH? Oh I forgot! YOU DON'T HAVE A FAMILY…"

*SLAP!* Sasuke touched his cheek. Mikoto was in front of him with tears in her angry eyes.

"Kaa-san? Why did you…?" Sasuke didn't even get to finish his sentence when she reared her hand for another one but was stopped by Naruto.

"Your right and wrong Sasuke! I don't have a family of my own but I do love the ones who are close to me! I would give my life for them! And I do know pain! Did you know that the Kyuubi wasn't killed? No, he can't be killed but he was sealed inside me when I was born! Don't ask why me! But I will tell you that I was hated and alone! They used to do terrible things to me Sasuke, things that would have killed anyone else but the Kyuubi saved me each time. I heal faster than any other human and I could even live being burnt at the stake…!" Mikoto and Sasuke's eyes enlarged themselves three times "… but what hurt the most Sasuke were the glares! Do you have any idea what it's like to be looked at like you are made of glass? Like you are not even there but you are the beast? No, 'what do you know about the pain I felt' years ago when you had warm food, people who listened to you and cared for you if you were hurting when I was searching for food in dumpsters and everyone ignored me or hurt me? What do you know you spoiled brat?" Naruto said without raising his soft tone. "I know how these things work Sasuke! I had to know them to survive each day! I know how the human mind works! And I don't want you to suffer from it! That's why I risked my life to save your mother even though I could have just ignored it!" Naruto told Sasuke who really regretted saying his earlier words.

"Don't lose your cool and think! I am not saying that Danzo should walk free but we will bring him to justice the right way! How? I don't know yet but we shall see! And like I told your mother, I will do whatever I can to see anyone of you be the executioner if you still desire revenge… after we become shinobi!" the blond spoke with deadly conviction earning two nods.

"Naruto…" Sasuke whispered looking down to the floor.

"Hmm?"

"Your right and … I'm sorry!" Sasuke confessed.

"Don't sweat it! You've been through a lot these days!" Naruto rubbed his upper lip and then the boys shook hands under the eyes of a smiling Mikoto.

"We now just have to make sure Danzo gets what he deserves!" Mikoto growled.

"But how?" Sasuke asked while Naruto was thinking.

"It won't be easy and fast that's for sure! Sasuke, Mikoto-san, you guys still have to play the act that Itachi was the killer! Sasuke, while we are in the academy you have to appear as if you only want to kill Itachi slowly, that you want power and nothing else! We also have to make sure that we end up on the same team but the question is how?" Naruto explained.

"Hmm… I know I'm not supposed to tell you this since it's a village rule not to say anything about it to non-shinobi and future shinobi but the foremost rule is that a shinobi secret can be revealed for the good of the village and such. The Gennin teams are formed following two rules with small exceptions. The first rule is that grades have to be balanced and that means the best boy and girl in class have to be paired with the worst boy decided by grades. This is to balance a team's power so that all teams have equal chances of survival out in the field. The second part is done by the team's sensei. If they decide to have a balanced team or a specialized team for task such as tracking they can choose the Gennin for their teams. The exceptions are when a council member uses his power to put their children or one they favor in a much better position like I heard the Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi want to with their children to form the second generation Ino-Shika-Cho." Mikoto explained.

Naruto had read about their legendary combos and was impressed. He wondered if their children could surpass them but snapped out of it and went back to thinking. After a while he got an idea.

"I got it! It's simple really! We just got to fill the first two requirements and I don't think that it will be a problem for us to end up together!" Naruto smirked and made the other two people look at him like he was crazy.

"Unless you are forgetting Naruto, you and I are the best two in our grade!" Sasuke explained with a large sweat drop.

"So? We still have three more years to pull it off and since getting bad grades would put you in a bad position for our plan and will attract too much attention as the 'last' (for now) Uchiha capable of the Sharingan (since Mikoto was by marriage and not by blood), I will take the fall! Besides hopefully it will get those pesky Ne agents off my back and will remove attention from my case letting me sneak around a lot easier. Besides, Hinata would be our third member if all goes well and I will make sure she will!" Naruto explained flashing a sadistic grin worthy of Anko when he mentioned the last part.

"And I will do what I can to investigate Danzo from inside the council!" Mikoto suggested.

"I think it would be best for you to lay low for a while Mikoto-san! Try and support the plan for the first part without attracting too much attention to yourself and keep your senses sharp for any Danzo related activity but don't go actively digging for him as I heard that people who do that 'mysteriously' disappear!" Naruto continued earning a nod from the woman.

They worked out the finer parts of the plan and then they went separate ways with Naruto remaining inside his apartment and after a quick shower got inside the bed.

'Hellu'va day!' Naruto thought.

'**You can say that again kit**!' a deep voice came from inside him.

'I don't know why I'm going so far with this nii-san." the boy continued

'**Me neither, but just so you know Naruto that mummy-bastard want's the youngster's Hokage hat!**' Kurama answered surprising the blond '**Not to mention that he wanted to turn us into a mindless weapon! We were there when he proposed it but you were too young to remember!"**

Naruto growled so much that it made Kurama proud and then he went to sleep.

The next day Naruto woke up with someone knocking at the door. He got up, still dressed in his clothes as he fell asleep last night forgetting to change them. He opened the door to see a sight that made his blood freeze.

"Umm… g-good morning H-Haruko-san!" he stuttered like he was seeing the Shinigami.

"Good morning Naruto-kun! Mind if I come in?" she said in a sweet voice.

The blond nodded and invited her in where she sat down on the bed.

"W-would you like some tea?" Naruto tried to shift the atmosphere a little bit.

She smiled and nodded. Naruto quickly boiled water and added the tea lives. He poured two cups of the brew and gave one to Haruko who was waiting patiently. She thanked him and then sipped some before setting the cup down on a small nightstand.

"Naruto-kun, would you mind telling me why you didn't bother to let me know where you went last night? And don't try to tell me that you were home because I already know that was a Shadow Clone!" she continued in a motherly tone.

'Yikes! It must have dispelled overnight! Guess the cats' out of the bag.' he thought surrendering himself to his fate.

"I went to the hospital to check on Sasuke after I heard he was admitted for unknown reasons. After that I just continued working since it was Saturday, I was already there and forgot the time! Since the apartment was the closest to the hospital and I was really tired, I just came here and fell asleep. Looks like I even forgot to change my clothes." Naruto didn't really lie. He hated lying for no reason but left out the part where he talked to the Uchiha duo.

"I heard about him and Mikoto-san but why did you not let us know that you were working?" she asked.

"Truthfully, I thought you wouldn't notice. I left a clone at home in case anything happen so it just slipped my mind!" he admitted feeling a little ashamed of himself.

Haruko then got up and took him by the ear and dragged him into the kitchen area.

"Ow, ow!" he said behind his teeth but didn't protest nor struggle.

She set him down on at the table and opened the farthest cupboard making him pale. The woman took out a couple of sealing scrolls that had different kanji on each one. She put a little chakra into them and out came a lot of different vegetables. She quickly used her chakra to cut and slice them and mixed them into a big bowl. Haruko then put the bowl in front of Naruto who was fighting the urge to run and throw up.

"Now, you know the drill! For every time you make us worry you eat one big bowl of salad." she told the blond in a scolding motherly tone.

"I guess there is no way I can convince you to let me off this time, is there?" Naruto tried to bargain his way out but Haruko frowned just the slightest and moved her head from side to side.

Naruto then sighed and said "Pass me the salt!" with a half-dead voice.

The next day Naruto, Hinata and her mother were walking to school. For the week he was strictly forbidden ramen as another part of his 'punishment'. Naruto didn't like it but he admitted he deserved it. Besides the food he got from the clan wasn't so bad but right now he really wanted to wash out the salad's aftertaste. It would take a week before he forgot about the 'horrible' mix and of course Haruko knew that so now she was on 'surveillance' duty.

Truthfully she knew that the boy would follow her command if she told him to stay away from Ichiraku but she just enjoyed walking the kids to the Academy. Now that she was fully healed she could even train her rusty body but still took the time to enjoy the things she loved.

On their way she noticed the glares that Naruto received from the villagers and she even responded back to those who wanted to throw stuff at the boy. To anyone else the woman looked like a harmless mother walking two kids at school but her targets would freeze with the objects in their hands. They would immediately see the creature that usually scared the shit out of Hiashi looking at least four times bigger than an adult and waving her index finger from side to side in a 'no' fashion.

But then she saw something else. She would see a couple of blurs around the area Naruto walked. Occasionally she would even spot a flash of some kind. Haruko activated her Byakugan and noticed that all the abnormalities were actually girls the same age as the kids walking besides her. She deactivated her doujutsu and was about to confront the closest one when Naruto stopped her.

"Doesn't work Haruko-san!" Naruto sighed. "I already tried to ignore them, chase them off, scare them, even bribe them but they still keep at it!"

"What do they want?" asked the confused woman.

"Don't know! They usually follow me around like this but the more daring ones even bring battery vacuum cleaners with them to pick any bread crumbs or hair that I leave behind. Anything bigger than that they treat it like it's an artifact, like what I wrapped my lunch in last week." Naruto continued.

Haruko looked a little more confused until Hinata pulled her over and whispered in her ear something. Naruto was too busy looking out for the insane girls but then she heard the woman giggling.

"Well, well Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan just told me that you have a fan club!" she continued making the girl blush.

"A WHAT? You mean like Sasuke's?" Naruto face-palmed himself. How could he NOT notice. "Then how in the world do I get rid of it?"

The woman giggled a little louder. "Well Naruto-kun as far as I know, there are only three ways to lose it!" she said making the boy's eyes bulge. "One would be to kill them all…" she said in a mock serious tone but making the closer fans yelp silently

"Too drastic!" Naruto said making the girls relax.

"Two would be to let them know that you don't swing their way!" Haruko giggled.

"Too OH-HELL-NO!" Naruto shivered.

"Three would be to get a girlfriend!" the woman smiled at Hinata giving her hope.

"Where would I get one of those?" Naruto deadpanned making the mother-daughter slouch.

"Maybe somewhere… close?" Haruko hinted.

"One of my fans? No way! They are nice girls but a bit too creepy for me!" he said.

"Someone even closer to you?" Haruko wanted to slap him over the head.

"Like make a clone and have it henge? But that would be a pain!" Naruto answered making Haruko mentally face-palm herself.

"Not that close." the woman continued looking to Hinata.

Naruto took a few seconds to register the information but came back shocked.

"Hinata?" he said out loud (but not shouted) and made the girl blush even deeper.

"No way!" he said crossing his arms and making the Hyuuga heiress nearly cry. "I mean could you imagine me and Hinata together?" he continued not noticing the girl's tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Naruto, why would you say something like that to Hinata-chan?" the girl's mother scolded him. "Do you really think that Hinata-chan would not be someone fit for you?" she nearly spat out.

"Huh? What do you mean? I meant it the other way around! I like her and all but I thought she liked me like a brother!" he answered a little dumbfound. "I mean…" he couldn't say anything more as he was silenced by a kiss from a teary Hinata, making his stalkers explode.

"You BAKA!" Hinata all but cried making the boy look even more surprised but he snapped out if it quickly.

"Can I take that as our first moment as a couple?" Naruto smiled at her and she hugged him tight.

"Ahem!". They were brought back from their dreamland by a giggling Haruko who just happened to have a camera with her making both kids red as tomatoes.

"Kaa-sama!" Hinata shouted to her mother. Naruto on the other hand looked a bit dazed but then the redness receded and he smiled at the woman.

"Can I take it that you 'and' Hiashi-sama approve?" he asked gaining a smiling nod. He smiled back and asked "What did you get with that?" pointing to the camera.

"Oh just the kiss and the hug!" she whistled hoping to make them embarrassed and it worked for Hinata… as for Naruto.

"I want copies!" he smirked and Haruko got a question mark over her head which Naruto saw. "Don't tell me you were hoping to tease me with them? Forget it!" he crossed his arms looking playfully smug.

"You're no fun Naruto-kun! How come?" she dropped her shoulders and Hinata looked at him in confusion.

"Some guy changed the cover of his porn novel to one of 'Fine Reading'. Using shadow reading I got through it before I could even avert my eyes!" he said inventing a new shade of red together with Hinata "Nothing compares to those kinds of thoughts! If I ever get my hands on the guy who did it I'm going to ring his life out of him or her slowly!" Naruto answered.

"Get in line!" Haruko told him as the dark figure behind her was cracking its knuckles.

Somewhere in another country far away from Konoha an elderly man with white long hair and a forehead protector that had the kanji for 'Oil' "ACHOOO!" sneezed out loud. 'Oh boy, someone must be talking about me… and judging by the intensity of the sneeze, it can't be good!"

The rest of the year passed and everybody in the kid's academy year got the message that Naruto and Hinata were together. At first the boy had a couple of problems with some of the boys in the class who thought that he had enough girls already and didn't need the hottest one. He blasted them away with massive KI except for one Inuzuka Kiba who just couldn't take a hint until he beat him into the ground one sparring match.

*Flashback*

"Alright class, today we have some basic sparring matches to see where your taijutsu is at right now. Each one of you come down and take a slip of paper from the desk, boys to the left and girls to the right! I will supervise the boys while Mizuki-sensei will see to the girls." Iruka pointed out.

They all went and picked a slip of paper and from the line-up Sasuke got Shikamaru, Naruto got Kiba and Hinata faced Sakura. Naruto was well on his way with his plan. His grades started dropping and he was severely faking his physical fitness. Not to mention Mizuki started to 'teach' the blond who noticed that the gray-haired man was doing his best to sabotage his training. Wrong hand-signs, horrible taijutsu forms, genjutsu on his test-papers you name it the sensei tried it. Naruto had to fight his urge to kill the man though it didn't help that Kurama was shouting to 'Just do it!'. But this was in the boy's favor since he could now hide his true abilities better by doing what Mizuki showed him. He dropped close to Shikamaru's position. Kiba was no better but his physical fitness kept him afloat.

They got to the academy training ground. It looked like an empty ground with no grass on it from years of use except that it had training posts at the edge. The two teachers explained the rules. No killing, no maiming, no chakra and only taijutsu. You start or stop when they say so or the opponent can't continue the fight.

Sasuke didn't have much of a fight on his hands as Shikamaru forfeited. Hinata used her mastery of the Ryuusei (better than Naruto's thanks to her flexibility) to tire Sakura out and then simply slapped her to the ground where she passed out from exhaustion.

Then it was Naruto's turn. He got into position and thought about how he would go on faking it. His plan was to take two or three hits until he fell to the ground and couldn't get up.

"Yahoo! I finally get to clobber this bookworm! Then Hinata will see what a loser you are and will come to me! I bet I will kiss her by tonight!" he said out loud making the plan and his hopes of winning shatter in the background.

The next thing he heard was a loud boom and crack as one of the training posts broke in half from Naruto's strike. The blond was standing straight and looked mighty pissed. To his right (and a few inches back) was the poor piece of wood that was as thick as him. Its top was lying on the ground in the back with a dent in it that looked like an impression of the bottom of a fist. (To clarify Naruto hit the wood with the bottom of his fist making the motion of hitting it horizontally with his shoulder. To give you an idea, just line your elbow with both your shoulders and straighten out your arm!)

Kiba noticed this and started sweating. Naruto disabled his bands who were now the equivalent of around 420 pounds on each limb.

"Any last wish dog-breath?" Naruto growled.

The Inuzuka was a moron but he had instincts, and right now those instincts foretold a world of pain for him.

"Umm… chill out man I was, umm kidding?" Kiba raised his arms in surrender.

"Any last wish?" Naruto asked again.

"How about … don't kill me?" Kiba yelped.

Iruka was a little worried after seeing Naruto break that thick post but he couldn't show favoritism. He had no choice but to say "Alright that's enough! Begin!"

"Granted!" Naruto smirked and then disappeared from view and in a split second he appeared in the air in front of Kiba and slammed his heel in the high-back of the dog-boy's head sending him face first into the ground making the boy pass out.

Iruka was stunned at the display and announced Naruto the winner before taking the passed out student to the infirmary. From that they on Kiba knew or at least pretended that Hinata was off-limits and so did the majority of the boys. Also since that time Naruto has never won a fight except for those who forfeited against him after feeling his KI like the Inuzuka.

*End flashback*

He was just entering the gates when the guard told him that the Hokage was there and that Hiashi wanted to see him. Naruto guessed what they wanted so he steeled himself for the meeting.

He opened the room to Hiashi's office and noticed that besides the man and the Hokage, Haruko was also there, and all of them looked unhappy.

'Oh boy!' Naruto slumped and wordlessly greeted the three who nodded back. "You wish to see me Hiashi-sama?" Naruto bowed.

Hiashi nodded and motioned the boy to sit between the two other adults.

"Naruto-kun, do you know why I called you here?" Hiashi asked.

"I do not but I guess it's about my academy performance." the boy answered seriously.

"Indeed! Well to skip the suspense would you tell us why you … competed for the position of lowest in class?" Hiashi asked.

Naruto closed his eyes for a couple of seconds then answered "I can't lie to you! There are a lot of reasons but, for now I can only tell you most of them! As for the rest I'm sorry I gave my word but I can assure you that they bring no danger to either the village or the clan! Don't worry, it's not a deal with any Ne ANBU."

Both Hiashi and Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. They pondered insisting that the boy say everything but then they remembered that they trusted the boy. They both knew that Naruto was far from a naïve child he let people believe he was and he would be deathly stubborn when he was serious. Haruko was just worried.

"That is fine but are you sure that those secrets are best kept from us?" Hiruzen commented.

"First thing I do when I become Gennin will be to tell you everything!" Naruto answered earning a nod from both men who relaxed even more. They agreed that there was little Naruto could do before becoming a shinobi, or so they thought. "The first reason my grades dropped is because of shinobi rule number one, surprise is the biggest advantage. If nobody knows what I'm really capable of then they will underestimate me!" he said earning another set of nods from the adults, who were surprised of how sneaky Naruto could be.

"Second reason would be to get the pain off your behinds!" Naruto smirked.

"What do you mean?" the surprised Kage asked.

"I mean the pain of the council Hokage-jijii!" the boy answered. "I know that the administration council, especially the civilian part are giving you constant headaches about me and seeing how smart I really am would make them even more restless and could make them take 'drastic measures'! In fact I think that this could work out in my benefit as well!" he said in a thinking pose while the adults were wide-eyed as Naruto was on the dot.

"How do you know that?" both men said at the same time.

"So I was right!" Naruto beamed and the two men blushed. "Anyway, this should take the heat off our backs! The last reason is because I found out how the Gennin teams are formed and I want to end up in the same team as Sasuke and Hinata and since both of them are heirs I left the top positions to them and I got dead-last!" Naruto confessed.

"How did you found out about that?" Hiruzen nearly shouted.

Naruto answered "Hey I got info on what happens in the council from you! Do you think it was that hard to figure it out?" Naruto smirked in an evil fashion.

Hiruzen sighed "I guess not."

Haruko intervened "But Naruto-kun, I understand that you care for Hinata and your friend but you know that Hiashi-san could have gotten you in that team right? Remember that the Hyuuga are on the council as well!"

"Yes, I thought of that but it would put the clan in the hotseat for favoring the 'demon-child'! It took them a long time to get used to me living here and that was with Hokage-jijii's help, at least that's what I heard from some drunken Jounin! What would happen when he can't get involved due to favoritism?" Naruto sighed and the adults had once again admitted he was right.

"That was all I can tell, for now at least! Except that Mikoto Uchiha-san also knows about this but is under the same oath of secrecy." Naruto said.

"Mikoto?" Hiruzen was surprised. He trusted the woman just as much as Itachi but he couldn't have approached her the same way since she was a retired shinobi and a mother.

Naruto was then excused.

When he was out of the room they began whispering.

"So, what do you two think?" Hiruzen asked the Hyuuga leaders.

"He carries too many weights on his shoulders! He cares more about his friends and family then his own dreams. I don't like the fact that he is involved in so many secrets but I am not in any position to talk about it!" Hiashi explained.

"I think I did wrong by teaching him politics but I also think that he could have found it out himself due to the village's views of him." Haruko continued a bit saddened by Naruto's sacrifice.

"Indeed, while it is true that the civilian councilors and a portion of the High Council have stopped watching him like hawks, he still should have left this to the adults. He is far too young to worry about such things! I will have to have a chat with Mikoto to see where this is going." Hiruzen added his two cents.

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, even though I agree fully with your words, I also think that we can all agree that Naruto's childhood unfortunately ended when he was born and the villagers found out what he contained. Also I need to remind you of the 'strained' relationship you have with the boy and would like to ask you to tread with care regarding Uchiha-san." Hiashi said in a grave tone.

"Indeed." Hiruzen looked to the ceiling where and image of Minato and Kushina appeared. 'I'm sorry!' the man cringed.

"Well it's no use crying over spilt milk! I know how stubborn Naruto-kun can be when helping another. Could you believe that he ate a whole big bowl of salad without complaining when I caught him working overtime at the hospital without telling me? Besides you both know that he is not stupid so we should do our best to watch over him and give him the support he needs!" Haruko giggled and the men laughed and agreed.

They didn't notice a small mosquito in Haruko's hair and as soon as they finished their meeting it flew outside and a good distance from the compound it disappeared in a large puff of smoke.

Inside his room Naruto smiled.

The next three years passed with Naruto the 'dobe' or dead-last of the class and was now wearing the canon orange jumpsuit. The blond found out that being the idiot on the floating line was harder than being on top. He noticed that Shikamaru was in a similar position but for the Nara being last seemed to come a lot easier, like it was genetic. True to his word Sarutobi summoned Mikoto to his office and the woman explained things in more detail but not enough to give a clear picture, saying that once her son was Gennin he would hopefully understand everything and would just have to wait. She reassured him that nothing will happen before this. The Hokage thankfully agreed with her and decided not to press the matter further.

The blond would constantly train with Sasuke and Hinata when not working at the hospital and they were at least mid-Chuunin. They would even study together and Naruto would tutor them seeing that he was a walking library. Sasuke and Mikoto on the other hand opened the Uchiha library for them and once again Naruto had stars in his eyes. He mostly ignored the jutsu portion of it and settled for the brute information section. Naruto eventually told the two about Kurama and even got them to meet him inside the forest mindscape. To say that they shit themselves when they saw the fox was the understatement of the universe but after a while they became comfortable and eventually friends. The boy then started working on his own element which was wind and he completely mastered it in a couple of months. Hinata decided not to train her element yet since she had much less chakra than the boys but went on perfecting her control and her Juken, adding her flexibility to it to minimize chakra usage. She also began learning basic medical jutsu from Naruto and the blond found out she had a natural talent for healing since she liked making medical salves. Naruto briefed her fully on the plan under the oath of secrecy and, while she worried about the whole matter, she agreed to take part in it.

Dr. Mamoru found out about his grades and he had to give the same explanation he gave the Hokage but the hospital head agreed with him fully and even helped him out wherever he wanted or needed to leave by giving him mock injury excuses or something else.

The days flowed like this until, at twelve years old, Naruto and his friends went to the academy for the day before that of the graduation exam. Since the 'Uchiha Incident' Sarutobi and the council forbid the skipping of grades since it was 'believed' that Itachi's condition as genius made him go mad and kill his family with the minimum graduation age now being that of twelve to give the young future shinobi to emotionally mature.

The hero trio were talking amongst themselves.

"Guys!" Naruto began.

"Hmm?" the duck-ass was 'brooding' to keep his image.

"You know that only grades matter for the team assignments, right?" the blond whispered gaining two nods.

"Well, why don't we drop the masks for the test? I challenge you to a duel of the exam oh great Uchiha!" he said making the brunet smirk and Hinata to sadden. Naruto noticed the later.

"Sorry! I would challenge you too Hinata-chan but you know that kunoichi compete with kunoichi (female ninja)!" he said making her feel better knowing that he was right and that he had a point.

"You're on!" Sasuke whispered.

After they finished talking the earth started to shake like it was a stampede.

'OH NO!' the trio thought as the rumbling was getting louder and closer. Soon the doors slid open and two girls (if you can call them that) screamed at the top of their lungs

"First!/I win!"

It was the presidents of Sasuke's annoying fanclub, Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno. After they finished arguing (canon) with Sakura winning, she made her way to the previous group's location.

"Oh no!" they voiced together in unison but not that loud.

Naruto was sitting on the outside with Sasuke in the middle and Hinata after him. Naruto in his passed academy years pretended to be a kind of idiot so Sakura would usually boss him around much to Hinata's displeasure. The blond had to keep the Hyuuga heiress form killing bubblegum-head on a constant basis. The pink bookworm didn't get to see Naruto mad when he bashed Kiba so she didn't believe the stories from her classmates not to piss-off Naruto.

The fangirl supreme (A/N: _Heh! Sounds like some kind of pastry!_) reached the trio's side and barked.

"MOVE NARUTO-BAKA! I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"Haruno-san, would you be so kind as to keep the volume low? Also there are other seating possibilities around so please pick another as Sasuke clearly doesn't want to be positioned anywhere near your presence!" he answered in a deceptively sweet tone that hid the sarcasm.

"NO! I WANT TO SIT NEXT TO SASUKE-KUN NOW MOVE BAKA!" she reared her hand for a punch and fired it but Naruto caught it with ease. 'Too easy! She's been dieting again!' he mentally sighed. For a ninja dieting was just wrong. It made you weak physically and being weak could spell your death or worse, the death of your comrades. He then reeled her in by the knuckles grabbing her throat at the same time and holding it tight.

"Now listen here Haruno-san! I. WILL. NOT. MOVE! Not on your orders! Now take your loud-ass mouth and move the hell away before I lose my temper, you fucking banshee!" Naruto growled letting Kurama's chakra fill his system gaining slit eyes and sharp fangs and claws, scaring the poor fangirl half to death. He retracted the Bijuu chakra before anyone else noticed this and after quickly and discreetly heeling her bruises he let her go and she vanished with a speed nobody knew she had (not even herself).

Sasuke then nudged the blond and whispered "Thanks!".

The doors once again slid open and two adults entered.

"Good morning class!" Iruka chirped but nobody noticed him and the class was being quite rowdy. The sensei then got a tick mark.

"QUIET YOU LITTLE BRATS!" he yelled using his big head jutsu, managing to get them to settle down.

"That's better! I hope you all slept well and studied because today is the graduation written exam!" he chirped again making the kids slump.

The two men started handing out the exam sheets with Mizuki giving Naruto his with a visible scowl on his face. After every student got their paper they all turned it to the other side to look at the questions. Naruto's for some reason seemed normal but he activated his Shinsougan just in case. He was surprised to find … one of the most complex genjutsu he ever saw besides the battle ready ones.

'So Mizuki-sensei really wants me to fail! I don't think it's only because Kurama-nii since he would have to deal with me another year, but why? He must have some other plan!' Naruto thought but remembered the challenge he had with Sasuke so, Ranpu active, he answered all the correct questions without dispelling the genjutsu on the paper flawlessly with Mizuki grinning like an idiot.

Finishing the exam in record time all three of them exited the room and went out to the yard.

"I would ask you how it was for you but the exam was just two easy!" Sasuke commented earning two nods.

"Guys, I think Mizuki is out to get me!" Naruto said.

"No flash-news there!" Sasuke answered.

"Yeah, but this time it was subtle. Each question had its own genjutsu as well as one over the whole page. He really wanted me to flunk! And it couldn't have been about nii-san! He would have wanted to get rid of me as fast as possible and send me to my death considering my 'academic performance', not keep me around another year!" Naruto explained.

"True! He wouldn't have used such a complex jutsu if he just wanted you to flunk!" Hinata added her ideas into the mix.

"I think he is up to something!" Sasuke commented.

"I agree! I will go talk to Hokage-jijii!" Naruto said and shunshined away.

"He ditched us … again!" Sasuke twitched and Hinata giggled, then both of them shunshined home.

Hiruzen was having a splendid time peeking on the woman baths of the Konoha onsen with his two shadow clones taking care of paperwork, when Naruto appeared with a swirl of leaves. The Hokage quickly deactivated his jutsu.

"Hey Hokage-jijii!" the boy chirped.

"N-Naruto! How did you…?" the old man asked.

"I shunshined through the open window!" Naruto said pointing to the said part of the building. "What were you up to?"

"H-Hokage stuff, c-concerning the security of the village!" Sarutobi hesitantly answered.

"If that 'stuff' is about one crystal ball, one onsen and Neko-san is your guard today… I know why your walls were growling." he said making the Hokage blush in embarrassment and the 'walls' to silently snicker.

"Anyway, that's not why I'm here. I came here to tell you that I suspect Mizuki-sensei of no good!" Naruto said changing to his serious mask.

"Naruto, are you sure? It isn't just a trick to get revenge on your sensei for failing you is it?" Sarutobi said though he already knew the answer.

"Do you really think so low of me?" Naruto asked still appearing serious with Hiruzen answering by swaying his head from side to side.

"What evidence do you have of this no good?" Sarutobi asked.

"That's just it, I don't!" Naruto then proceeded to tell the old man the same things he told Sasuke and Hinata.

Sarutobi pondered a bit but saw that Naruto had a point, as usual when he was serious. "Hmm… what can we do about this?" the aged Kage pondered.

"I don't know! It seems that the only way to find out what he is planning is for me to actually fail but then again I don't really want to repeat the year but I'm willing to take one for the safety of the village!" Naruto said sadly.

Hiruzen then got an idea. "Then maybe you should fail!" he chirped with Naruto having a look between 'are-you-crazy', 'okay' and 'I'm-going-to-kill-you!'

The Hokage noticed this and sweat-dropped "No not like that! I am going to test you right here and now with the ANBU as the witness! That's it if you think you passed the written portion as I believe you to be capable of doing!" Hiruzen chuckled.

"Are you kidding me? I wrote a quarter of those questions! Iruka-sensei forgot to check the sources of his questions again." the boy slumped at the thought of his sensei.

Hiruzen agreed with him as he had a short (canon with small modifications) talk with the scared man about Naruto.

"Okay then! Now for the taijutsu portion, I know that you are a master of Juken and your original style Ryuusei so that's a pass with full marks. The shuriken and kunai, I saw you many times using your clones as practice dummies and hit them, moving targets, without fail so another full marks. Ninjutsu and genjutsu I don't really know that much except Shadow Clones and Ranpu abilities."

"Well I can do all three academy jutsu but they have an issue." Naruto confessed.

"What issue?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

"I mean this…" Naruto said and henged into Mizuki without hand-seals. "Try to touch my head, gently!" the boy said.

Sarutobi went to touch 'Mizuki's' head and thinking that it was just an illusion, he forgot the gentle part and he slapped Naruto with force.

"OW! I said gently!" Naruto growled.

"Wha?" the Hokage said in surprise.

"It is still the academy jutsu! It's because of Kurama-nii-san's chakra that the academy henge is just the same as the Jounin version that makes it real! The same with the Bunshin! It looks just like a Kage Bunshin but without memory transfer. My Kawarimi is much stronger too. I can pull living beings using the same chakra that you would use to pull a log! All jutsu use the same chakra as the academy ones but as you can see…" Naruto stopped talking as the old man nodded.

(A/N _In the original series, henge can be solid! Research it if you don't believe me! I just adapted the story to fit my fic!_)

"As for genjutsu, for the same reason I can't use normal illusions but I can still project soundless images with my Ranpu abilities and I'm virtually immune to all genjutsu thanks to Kurama-nii-san's help and my Ranpu chakra that cleanses my system of any foreign mass or chakra!" the boy confessed again returning to his real form while holding a miniature hologram of the Hokage in his hand.

"Well the exam was never about casting genjutsu but breaking them. Casting one would earn extra points so that means you get full points again and a little bonus thanks to the unique Ranpu genjutsu and the Kawarimi! All in all you have passed full points with extra!" said the man while waving off the ANBU who scattered while he went to his desk to get a rather old but still shining forehead protector. The hitai-ate looked like it had seen a lot of action.

Naruto noted the agents leaving and discreetly activated 'Keeper of Secrets' gaining a smile from Hiruzen.

"Congratulations, Gennin Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki! This was your father's hitai-ate! I kept it to give it to you when you graduated or reached sixteen years of age." Hiruzen said while tying the forehead protector to the boy's head who was smiling and fighting his own tears. "Now I'm going to hand you your first C-rank mission! You are to find out if and what is Mizuki planning and report your findings to me!"

"HAI JIJII!" Naruto answered standing in attention and slightly smiling.

The next day we find our hero trio standing together in the class.

"So that's what happened guys." Naruto told them.

"Congratulations!" Hinata chirped in a whisper.

"Hn!" Sasuke smirked.

"Now let's see what score you get Sasuke!" Naruto smirked back.

"Get ready to cry Naruto!" Sasuke 'threatened'.

"Fat chance!" the blond playfully responded.

At that moment Iruka and his gray-haired companinon entered.

"Alright class, settle down so we can begin!" the man politely addressed the class but had the same reaction as yesterday.

"I SAID SILENCE YOU BRATS!" the big head jutsu strikes again.

"That's better, now first of all I would like to say that some of you did well where some of you didn't do so good on yesterday's test! You will find out your scores later, if you pass the physical challenge of the Gennin tests. Okay let's get to it! I want you all to wait outside before we call you in!" the dolphin said in a much too happy tone.

The class complied and all went outside to wait for their turn.

First was the targeting exam where students had to hit a stationary target dummy in the vitals with ten shuriken and ten kunai.

Sasuke and Hinata got perfect points but Naruto intentionally missed a couple of them. It was easier for him to fake it since he got a lot of shitty and bent kunai and shuriken hidden by weak genjutsu.

The taijutsu part of the exam where a student had to face off an instructor while the other sensei watched and graded style and ingenuity, where once again the brunet and blue pair got full points with a little extra for combining the academy style with their clan style. Naruto on the other hand faked it again by using moves Mizuki taught him, occasionally adding a correct move or two to keep him from failing, yet. He still wanted to know what his friends did.

Then came the last part which was the Ninjutsu and Genjutsu examination.

Hinata was the first of them to enter after a few minutes she came out with a big smile on her face having aced it and even trapping Mizuki in a genjutsu earning a few extra points.

After another group of students it was Sasuke's turn and after a while he came out wearing his traditional smirk. He went a step further and nabbed both of them in a genjutsu where they both saw each other as monsters gaining more points.

As Naruto entered he saw a desk full of brand new leaf hitai-ate. He still had his own in his jumpsuit pocket held close to his heart.

"Okay Naruto, I want you to perform the three academy jutsu plus to escape from a simple genjutsu!" Iruka said in sensei mode.

"Sure! Here I go!" Naruto chirped and gathered a lot of chakra for the show.

The boy then started 'concentrating' out loud "Aaaaahhhhh… _Kaze no Kizu!_ (A/N _Just kidding!_) 'Bunshin no Jutsu'!" just as he let go of the jutsu the blond felt a spike of chakra directed at his Tenketsu. Using Soujin Seishin he had enough time to see that the source was Mizuki.

'Bastard!' Naruto thought.

Then out of a puff of smoke came a brain dead whitish clone that cried 'Kill me!'.

"YOU FAIL!" Iruka screamed.

(Canon from here to the end of Mizuki's conversation with Naruto at the swing)

"Hokage-jijii!" Naruto said while shunshining to his office.

"Yes Naruto I saw it all!" Hiruzen answered with a grave expression.

"What do we do? Without any other evidence the council would just take it as favoritism towards the 'demon-child' if you say that I am the witness since 'I failed the exam'!" Naruto asked.

The Hokage took another swig from his pipe and blew out the smoke. "Indeed! Truthfully, I'm sorry Naruto!" the aged Kage told the boy who raised an eyebrow. "I did not fully believe you and did not station any ANBU to watch over the proceedings of the exam." the man admitted.

Naruto cringed his teeth but started counting down from five while thinking. "Understandable! I will not hold it against you this time!" the blond continued "But what do we do about Mizuki?"

"I will give you the Scroll as bait and when he confesses fully he will be apprehended! Just guard it well Naruto, it is a relic from the Shodai Hokage (First Fire Shadow)!" Hiruzen answered.

"Hai!" came from Naruto.

(Canon until Iruka confesses that he cares for Naruto and that he is not the fox)

"I said I would take care of you first Iruka but I changed my mind!" smirked Mizuki as he readied his shuriken "HURRY UP AND DIE!" he screamed as he charged Iruka and was about to throw when Naruto teleported to the traitor's side to deliver a jaw crushing axe-kick.

"NARUTO!" screamed Iruka although he was surprised to see the blond sporting a hitai-ate.

"Mizuki, by the orders of the Third Hokage, as a shinobi of the hidden leaf I am placing you under arrest!" Naruto growled at the gray haired sensei.

"Heh! So I was set up, huh?" Mizuki cringed a smirk and enlightened the situation for Iruka. "No matter, I'll kill you with one shot!" he shouted.

Naruto didn't answer but teleported directly to his side to deliver a backhand to his nose. After skidding to a halt Mizuki trembled as he rose from the ground.

"Kill me with one shot eh? 'Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'!" Naruto said the last part though no hand-signs were formed and over a thousand Narutos appeared around them "Which one of me?" all Narutos said in unison followed by them beating the shit out of the traitor.

"Naruto you…" Iruka said though he was still shocked.

The boy then dispelled all but two clones.

"Easy sensei! You got hurt pretty bad! Stay still!" Naruto said while his clones were using medical jutsu to heal him.

"Guess I never knew you after all!" the man smiled sadly.

"For the most part you were right just that your info wasn't complete! As for the Kyuubi, I found out about him when I was five and before you ask, yes the Hokage knows! His name is Kurama and is a pretty good guy as long as you don't wake him up early!" Naruto chuckled this last part making Iruka look at him wide eyed.

'**I heard that!**' the fox growled.

"Go back to sleep nii-san!" Naruto laughed.

'**Hmph!**'

"Sorry about that Iruka-sensei he just hates it when I'm in danger! All done!" the boy smiled and Iruka smirked.

"Thanks and good job!" Iruka answered when the Hokage together with his trusty ANBU appeared.

"Iruka, Naruto, I want to congratulate you for apprehending the traitor Mizuki! Naruto, congratulations on your first successful … B-rank mission! Come by tomorrow to deliver the report and get your pay for it. Iruka will you help him with the report or are you in need of medical care?" the Hokage asked.

"I feel fine Hokage-sama! Naruto must have patched me up pretty well!" Iruka smiled.

"Of course! Naruto is actually the most talented and competent medical nin that we have in the village, according to chief med-nin Mamoru! His techniques are legendary in the hospital!" the Hokage chuckled making Naruto blush and Iruka go wide-eye.

"Speaking of techniques, what was that jutsu that you used to appear next to Mizuki? I couldn't sense any movement." asked Iruka.

"Oh, I call that 'Senkaipo' (World Piercing Step)! It works by combining the principles of Yondaime's Hiraishin and the Kawarimi no Jutsu together with some complex quantum mechanics! I open a subspace gate and switch any portion of space in contact with my chakra with any other portion space I can see or sense depending on how much chakra I use. It doesn't work if I don't know the exact properties of the said space because I need to add a precise amount of chakra. Besides that it uses as much chakra as an A-rank fire jutsu every time I 'switch' or 'jump' and will still work even if you don't have that said chakra but you will get crushed in subspace if you don't have enough energy to keep the 'tunnel' open. I would thus classify it as a Kinjutsu for shinobi lower than Jounin except myself because of the dangers, the chakra quantity and control needed besides that it would require nearly ten years of quantum mechanics study." Naruto said in a lecture type pose leaving two stupefied adults since the ANBU had left with Mizuki.

"I-I see!" the old Kage sweat-dropped. Naruto had just upgraded the Hiraishin and the blond was talking about it like he had just finished a math problem and was moving on to the next. "Well I guess you two have earned some rest! Take care!"

And with that they all headed home.

*End Chapter*

**A/N**

Well there you have it! Naruto is a Gennin, that means that the polls are closed. Let's check the votes.

Y-19/N-24

*Canceled*

Y-26/N-12

Y-16/N-21

*Secret*

L-26/S-4

So this means that this will be strictly NaruHina (which in my view works fine for the story), Hanabi will have the role of younger sister, Naruto will be rich, Tsunade will arrive in Konoha at the canon time, Sarutobi may live or die and there will be long chapter updates.

Special thanks to reader 'the-contradiction' for some cool ideas for jutsu names one of which is 'Senkaipo'!

Next chapter Kakashi, Tora and Wave mission!


	8. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for.

Author notes

Senkaipo is a technique that instantly switches two fixed portions of space between themselves. The user must be in the vicinity of the 'moved' space so he can use his chakra to weave the technique and must also have at least basic real-time information about the two target spaces or the jutsu can have disastrous consequences (for example mass has gravity and gravity bends space in significant quantities – not talking about a few gulps of air but a glass of water can affect the process).

The user can move only one portion to a target position with two consequences. Where the two spaces meet the space-time continuum distorts and anything transported or in the target position can be trapped inside an expansion bubble where a whole range of occurrences can take place dependent on the initial conditions like trapped mass or energy, special perturbations etc. In the starting location remains a sort of 'void' or negative space (a gap if you will) that quickly collapses in on itself dragging anything in range into a universal sink hole to be destroyed by a state on non-existence (normal creation can only exist in space, not negative space) and creating a massive explosion as the collapsed 'gap' crushes atoms into energy and creates antimatter that reacts with the surrounding matter.

It is said that a pinhead of antimatter induced contains enough power as a twenty kiloton nuclear explosion (Hiroshima level - at least that's what I read) but the quantity produced by the collapse is much, much smaller depending on the size of the 'gap' but (in my fanfic) as an example, a gap the size of a mosquito creates enough for a blast radius of thirty feet (approx. ten meters).

Because of chakra interference, Naruto can't transport living beings or parts of them. (Truthfully I added this to keep it from becoming a Certain Kill technique like teleporting an enemy's heart out of their bodies)

Naruto will know quite a bit on Fuuinjutsu but he will be a seal master similar to Jiraya (How many seals have you seen him use?)

Previously on _NotS_:

"I-I see!" the old Kage sweat-dropped. Naruto had just upgraded the Hiraishin and the blond was talking about it like he had just finished a math problem and was moving on to the next. "Well I guess you two have earned some rest. Take care!"

And with that they all headed home.

Main story:

Because of the Mizuki incident, the Hokage extended the team announcement day to a week after the exam. This worked fine with Naruto who now got the time to train after telling his friends how it all went with the traitor, earning a playful jealous glare from Sasuke seeing that the blond already had a B-rank in his book.

The day after the event the Hokage called his future Jounin senseis for team formations.

"Alright these are the graduates for this year." Hiruzen said giving each of them a dossier containing information on the rookie Gennin. "Now I would like to hear, who you would like on your teams."

"I would like to train this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho!" Sarutobi Asuma came forward earning a nod from the old man.

"I am going to train Sasuke Uchiha considering my … unique asset. I would also like a combat formation." continued Kakashi Hatake not bothering to check the files and gaining another nod and a small sigh from the Kage. It seems that the council played the Obito guilt card.

"I am going to form a tracking team and would like to train Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka and… Hyuuga Hinata." the genjutsu mistress Yuhi Kurenai commented but no approval came from the Hokage.

"I am afraid that there are … complications with that formation." Hiruzen answered starting a small conversation of whispers in the back. "I am sure you are aware of Hiashi and Mikoto's intentions of having their heirs on the same team."

"Even so this will be the team I train!" the stubborn woman didn't back down making the aged man sigh in exasperation.

"Come back tomorrow and you will receive your teams and Kurenai … I will give you my answer then." the Hokage pointed out. "Dismissed!" he ordered and they bowed and scattered.

Later that day Naruto was enjoying a quiet time in the Hyuuga dojo while a couple of his clones were working on his chakra control and Fuuinjutsu. Although he had read tens of books on the ninja art, he still had to practice it, especially explosive tags judging by the constant influx of memories he got as each one of his clones got dispelled one by one when they made a mistake at the quantity of chakra needed to imprint an explosive formula on a surface. Naruto decided to use his chakra to write the formulas as it was a battle ready form of the art, instead of carrying ink and scrolls all the time, for even the most complex seals. And boy was it hard.

His clones were training in training ground 44 where nobody ever bothered him so he could hide his techniques.

'Okay, do NOT add an amplification array on top of an activation formula!' he thought as he was doing his training which meant standing in a space just high enough to fit his height together with a vertically raised arm. He was upside down in a handstand and doing a one handed pushup then attaching himself with chakra to the ceiling and pulling himself in a 'sitting' position using his legs, repeating this sequence 300 times with each arm, then would switch position now standing normally but still doing something similar but instead the push-ups now became pull-ups and vice-versa.

Hinata was near him and was working on some medical techniques Naruto showed her earlier but sometime she would steal a glance at Naruto and would blush seeing his muscular bare chest as he would usually train his physique with only his pants and bands on.

Naruto picked up on these and would sigh. 'Okay, while I do love the fact that my body makes my girlfriend blush, I got to stop this before she turns into a fangirl!' he shivered at that last thought causing him to almost lose his concentration and slip, almost.

Just then Isamu entered and bowed to the two "Naruto-sama, Hokage-sama has requested your presence."

"Thank you Isamu-san!" the blond answered while wiping off his sweaty brow with Hinata looking at him with worry. "Probably wants to talk about 'Operation Gardner'! Got to give the old man credit, he remembered." he told Hinata while smiling.

'Operation Gardner' was the name given to their plans to bring Danzo to justice.

Naruto then got to his room. Miki wasn't there as Anko needed her today for interrogation. The blond would sometimes go there to learn more about information gathering. While the woman's more 'hands on' approach was not to his liking, he soaked everything like a sponge. He liked Ibiki-oji-san's psychological method of scarring and breaking his vict… prisoners better but he loved Inoichi Yamanaka's (Ino's dad) techniques the most. While he could invade the opponent's mind and find out information, but that also sometimes left his own mind open and some strong willed individuals could even resist him, he used an even better way of getting secrets by offering pacts, deals, understandings, essentially becoming 'friends' with the prisoners and making them spill their guts. The blond eventually got a pass inside the place to keep him from sneaking in and putting them into a bad position.

*Flashback*

"Alright gaki. Since you are one of us now I'm going to give you the tour." Anko smirked.

"Okay, though I already know the whole layout by myself now so can we please skip to the action?" he said in the most 'polite' form he knew would work on the woman.

"Impatient aint'cha? Guys like that usually die first!" she 'scolded' him.

"Not impatient, excited!" he copied her smirk.

"Bwhahaha! I like ya even more Naruto-kun!" she liked her lips. "Okay! Let's go to cell 225, I have a hard nut to crack today."

"Hard nut?" Naruto quizzed.

"Yup! This guy took Ibiki's week-long treatment plan and still held it together." she said making Naruto awe in respect for the prisoner. Usually most guys wouldn't last to the second day but this one took a week and still held it together.

"Here we are! Wait here kid, I need to get some stuff." she ordered and then left for her office. Five minutes later she turned the corner with a basic torture kit in her hands. The cell was on the other side of the seventy foot long corridor but noticed that Naruto was nowhere to be found. She took a couple of steps until she heard a heart-shattering scream followed by "I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK! JUST… KEEP AWAY FROM ME!" coming from the cell.

She ran all the way there reaching the door in three seconds and opened the peeking slide to see that the room was completely dark except for two glowing slit orbs hovering and moving towards the door. The cell then opened to find Naruto in his Fire Capital clothes with his feral features accentuated and his eyes slit and red. He then inhaled and breathed out returning to normal. He closed the door and then turned to Anko.

"This guy took on Ibiki for a week? Not impressed! Oh well, he's all yours onee-san." Naruto finished with a smirk.

"Naruto-kun, what did you do?" she asked blinking fast in surprise.

"Well I first entered the room and he started the tough guy 'Not telling anything' attitude! I then pulled a little bit of nii-san's chakra and well you could see the change in my eyes. I can see in the dark as well so I could tell he totally soiled himself. The smell was a 'clue' too. I then whispered in his ear that I would do to him what the villager mobs did to me, the 'nicer' part of them! Then I think you heard the result. _Freakin' coward_!" Naruto whispered the last part.

Anko blinked a couple of times more before "BWHAHAHA! Wait 'till Ibiki hears that what he couldn't do in a week a kid could in less than five minutes!"

Naruto just grinned and blushed a little.

*End Flashback*

A quick shower, a change of clothes and he was on his way to the Hokage. Even though he was a full shinobi now, he still hid part of his abilities (at least for now) but decided it was time to bring out some of the big guns. So after climbing the tallest building that had a clear view to the Hokage tower, he activated his Shinsougan and zoomed in on the old man. Hiruzen was waiting a little impatiently while his clones did the paperwork. Ever since Naruto pointed out this method he was very happy that he could have some time for himself but sometimes he would get bored since his job was 85% paperwork.

He was quickly snapped out of his daze when Naruto appeared in his office out of thin air. (A/N _The Senkaipo doesn't produce a flash of light like the Hiraishin._)

"Good morning Hokage-jijii! You wanted to see me?" the boy chirped.

The old man took a second to get his heart under control after he barely avoided a stroke. "Naruto please don't do that! I had enough trouble with your dad when I was younger!" the old man shouted making the boy smirk. "Other than that… Good morning! Yes I did call for you. There are two problems I wish to discuss with you."

Naruto's cheerful demeanor quickly dropped but he stayed silent and nodded.

"Because of a … situation yesterday I remembered out talk when your grades started dropping. So…" the man wanted to ask but was stopped by the boy who raised a hand. Naruto then quickly turned his gaze towards the shadows in the room.

Hiruzen understood this and motioned to his ANBU to leave who disappeared in a poof. The boy then double checked the room to see that there were no connections to the outside before activating 'Keeper of Secrets' signifying that this was serious. The man knew from his interactions with the blond that if he just wanted privacy, only 'Tomb of Secrets' would be in place.

"Okay we are in the clear now." Naruto said gravely "As I promised I will tell you everything about 'Operation Gardner' as we have named it." he continued before telling the man the whole event. How he found out about the coup and how he saved Mikoto. He also told the man that he was planning to get rid of Danzo.

"NARUTO! Those are village affairs! I can't believe that you would stick your nose into them!" The Hokage scolded Naruto but the boy looked unfazed.

"And I can't believe you would allow Danzo to order Itachi-nii-san to kill the whole clan, children included!" Naruto responded giving Hiruzen a reason to be shocked.

"What do you mean? Danzo suggested it at the council but Itachi was the one who took that decision!" Sarutobi tried to explain.

"Is that what the mummy-man told you?" Naruto returned to a more respectful tone and earned a nod making the boy sigh. "He really took you for a ride, didn't he?"

"What do you mean?" Hiruzen was getting worried.

"What I mean is that Itachi never had a choice, well not a decent one at least. Danzo gave him the options of either murdering his clan to save his little brother Sasuke or to stand with them and be executed and let his clan go extinct! I don't think that this is much of a decision, is it?" Naruto explained.

The Hokage was now in his thinking mode. It all made sense. How could Itachi murder everyone, except his younger brother. 'Naruto is right, he did take me for a ride.' the man concluded.

"Indeed, but that does not explain your need for involvement Naruto! That man is dangerous and this is no matter a Gennin should handle, no matter how strong you are!" the man was in scolding mode again.

"I agree Hokage-jijii!" the blond confessed surprising the man "But I still can't stand to be on the sidelines! I know it is dangerous! But I also took the choice of not getting involved because of nii-san's advice and let the Uchiha children die! I still don't know if I could've done anything but that is no excuse. There is not a week that goes by without me having nightmares of it and I don't think it will stop until that guy is brought to justice! So please, let me do it! I give you my word I will not take any stupid risks but just…" Naruto stopped rambling. The pain in his eyes could be seen by anyone much more the Kage. "But if you do not I will listen. Danzo is a loyal shinobi of Konoha but nothing more. He is not loyal to you or its people. To him the end does justify the means, no matter what they are! I know about Root! Did you think that he listened to you after you told him to disband it? I can still see his ANBU, although they aren't wearing the 'Ne' on them, their eyes are the same as always, even their tactics. Your agents' are not as subtle or as calculating and cold."

Hiruzen was now sunk in his chair thinking it over. If he agreed with the boy's plan he would be putting him into huge danger. He could take matters into his own hands but history showed that he could not be as effective. However Danzo may not expect a Gennin team and that could be the advantage they would be looking for. Besides Naruto and his friends were not your average Gennin. The only thing they were lacking was experience and the boy did claim that this was a long term project.

The Hokage kept weighing the pros and cons, finally submitting himself to the fact that Naruto was very stubborn and even though he said that he would not get involved at his order, he wasn't so sure that the mummy wouldn't approach the boy at a later time. Having him under his supervision would be better as he could use his experience to coordinate the plan.

Hiruzen sighed "I hope I'm not going to regret this but… alright Naruto, you have my approval, but I expect periodical oral reports on your progress as well as any significant findings. I also expect you to follow my orders without question regarding… 'Operation Gardner'!" He had to admit that it had a nice sound to it.

"HAI!" Naruto answered standing in attention.

The aged Kage smirked before continuing "Good, now that brings us to the second part of the problem. I may not be able to secure Hinata in your team."

Naruto was shocked but stayed silent.

"It appears that Kurenai Yuhi wants to create a tracking squad and wants Hinata to be a part of it. She is adamant and apparently will not take no for an answer."

The blond face-palmed. 'Kurenai-san, I know that you care for Hinata like an older sister but you know that we want to be placed together.' he thought before asking "Who would be our teammates then?"

"Her team would be composed of Aburame Shino and… Kiba Inuzuka. "Hiruzen answered and Naruto face-planted.

"And my team?" he said in a weak voice.

"Sasuke Uchiha…" This made him smile a little "and Sakura Haruno, under the tutelage of Kakashi Hatake!" he continued and the boy was now a mass of jelly before recovering and planting his hands on the Kage's desk who was slightly amused by his reactions.

"NO WAY! I AM NOT HAVING THAT FANGIRL ON MY TEAM! THERE IS TOO MUCH AT STAKE HERE TO LET THAT GOSSIP QUEEN IN ON THE PLAN! ALSO THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT I AM LETTING THAT HORN-DOG NEAR HINATA-CHAN UNTIL HE GETS OVER PUBERTY OR IS NEUTERED!" Naruto protested.

"I am sorry Naruto but what can I do? The civilian council supports Haruno's addition to Sasuke's team." the Hokage felt a little sorry for the boy and answered with his eyes closed.

There was a little silence in the room before Naruto answered.

"You're right Hokage-jijii, I shouldn't have put you in that spot!"

Hiruzen smiled at the boy for understanding so quickly and wanted to ease the boy's worry but before he could answer he heard 'Cluck, cluck' and opened his eyes.

To Naruto's right there was now a white feathered chicken dressed in miniature Hokage clothing.

The boy continued "I mean I thought that this was a military village run by the Niwatorikage-sama! (Chicken-shadow)"

Sarutobi was not impressed by the display and, although slightly amused, he did feel his blood boiling. "Naruto stop that! I will not have you disrespect me in my office!" he shouted.

Naruto just picked his ear with his pinky finger and continued talking to the chicken "I mean you are old and weary so I guess you can't even handle one civilian council and one Jounin."

"Naruto!" the Kage shouted in a much graver tone but Naruto gave him no attention.

"I guess you're only a step away from handing Danzo the hat, seeing how scared you are of the previous and the fact that he always walks over you and takes innocent children to turn them in mindless killing machines!" Naruto smirked while teleporting the Kage's hat into his hand and dangling it in front of the chicken.

That was the last straw as loads of KI poured out of Hiruzen who now had a huge tick mark on his forehead and his eyes were glowing red. He jumped from his seat and slammed his palms on his desk.

"GENNIN UZUMAKI, I WILL NOT SAY IT AGAIN! I AM STILL THE UNCONTESTED RULER OF THIS VILLAGE AND ITS SHINOBI, INCLUDING YOU, AND WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO MOCK THE HOKAGE POSITION!" the man breathed fire as he shouted.

"THEN ACT LIKE ONE!" Naruto responded as no matter how much KI the man could produce he was still human and the boy trained with Kurama until he couldn't even feel the Bijuu's full force.

Hiruzen was taken aback by this reaction but after a few seconds smiled. "You're right Naruto! I have been letting them walk all over me, but no more! I am still the Hokage and my words will be respected! Thank you!"

"HAI!" Naruto answered before returning the old man's hat. "Besides I think that Sakura would be much better under Kurenai-san's tutelage. From what I saw in class she has superb chakra control but very little stamina so that would make her an excellent genjutsu user. Also having a woman as a sensei could snap her out of her fangirl tendencies. Having Sasuke on her team would be a distraction for the most part and could even put the team in danger!"

"Indeed." Hiruzen answered taking another sip from his pipe. "Very well. Dismissed!"

Naruto nodded and Hiraishined back to the compound but not before placing a secret target-seal in the office.

The next day all Jounin except Asuma gathered to find their teams. The Hokage finished with teams cannon fodder… I mean teams 1-6 quickly before turning to Kakashi who was reading his orange book and Kurenai who was glaring at him.

"Kakashi, you will lead team 7 composed of …" the Kage wanted to specify the team members but the Jounin raised a hand.

"Forgive me Hokage-sama but I am only interested if Sasuke is on my team." he said.

"He is." Hiruzen answered with a sigh.

"Thank you!" Kakashi bowed and retreated but did not leave.

"Kurenai, you are the leader of team 8 composed of Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka and… Sakura Haruno!"

"What? Excuse me Hokage-sama but I asked for Hinata Hyuuga. Her Byakugan would be important for a tracking team! Besides I do not want her anywhere near that pervert!" she protested pointing at Kakashi.

"Kurenai, Hinata will be placed on Kakashi's team! She is a better close-quarters fighter than she is at her Byakugan proficiency. Also, having a team that is too specialized can be a detriment to the team's other skills such as combat. Besides Sakura shows the necessary skills and aptitude to be a superb genjutsu user or medic nin, however she suffers from a 'condition' the younger generations refer to as 'fangirl'…" Sarutobi answered making every Jounin in the room cringe, including Kurenai. "The only team that would fit her skills is Kakashi's but the object of her worship is none other than Uchiha Sasuke-kun so she could put them in jeopardy!" the old man tried to reason.

"Even so Hokage-sama, I stand by my choice!" Kurenai said not backing down.

Hiruzen sigh 'Don't say I never tried reason!' but then switched to Hokage-mode "Jounin! I must remind you that all decisions I make are for the good of the village and its inhabitants! Besides that, I will also remind you that I am the Hokage and will not have my decisions be questioned by my subordinates like so! Do I make myself clear?" he continued releasing a good amount of KI.

All shinobi took a step back and started sweating. "Well?"

"H-Hai!" Kurenai answered swallowing her protests.

"Very well, you will pick up your teams at the academy next Monday around noon. That is all, dismissed!"

Later that day there was an Administration Council meeting.

Sarutobi began "Very well, we need to discuss the tax plan for the following season as well as…"

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but there is an urgent matter to rectify!" Councilor Haruno arose.

'Oh boy, here goes!' "Yes councilor Haruno?" Hiruzen answered.

"It has come to our attention that the blond brat has attacked my daughter! I demand justice!" she shouted making the whole room cringe in pain.

"Before you demand anything councilor I must ask if you have proof of the crime." the Hokage raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I do! It was in the middle of the academy hours! He was seen by nearly every student in my daughter's class!" she continued yelling.

"Is that so? Hmm, well…" Hiruzen was interrupted from answering the woman by Shibi Aburame, the Aburame clan head and Shino's dad.

The man started in his stoic and emotionless voice "Forgive me for interrupting Hokage-sama but I must state that I have heard of this incident and …"

"You see!" Haruno yelled.

"Councilor Haruno! Please refrain from interrupting in such manner or you will be removed from the board! If you have something to add please raise your hand or wait to be spoken to!" Hiruzen growled. "Please continue Shibi!"

"As I was saying I have knowledge of the incident from my son who is in the same year as councilor Haruno's daughter. His version states that it was the girl who first attacked Naruto-kun after he refused to vacate the seat near Uchiha Sasuke!" the man said

"I told…!" Haruno started screaming again but two swords appeared on her neck. "What?" she continued but in a much softer tone.

"I warned you Haruno-san! I have been recently … reminded that Konoha is a military village run by the Hokage not the council! This is only a tradition that I am indulging at the moment. A tradition that I can interrupt if I would so choose! You will not be warned again! That goes for all of you!" he responded to the woman before turning to the council. "Shibi?"

"I have only one more thing to add. It appears that Naruto-kun even refused the girl in a polite fashion and she was the one who reacted hostile. Logic would conclude that the accused acted in self-defense."

"I see!" Hiruzen answered before turning to see Mikoto raising her hand. "Yes Mikoto?"

"I would like to second Shibi's claim and to state the fact that my son constantly refused Haruno-san's daughter's advances, finding them and I quote 'extremely annoying' so this would also mean that Naruto-kun helped my son as well!"

"Hmm… anything else?"

"I also second Shibi's claim but it's too troublesome to state why except that it is similar to what my son told me." Shikaku Nara answered the call.

"Anyone else second Shibi's words?" Hiruzen asked and every other clan head raised their hands including Tsume Inuzuka, Kiba's mother.

"Seeing this, I declare Uzumaki Naruto innocent on all charges!"

"BUT HOKAGE-SAMA!" Haruno protested until she saw the look on the Hokage's face that promised pain if she said another word.

"ANBU, remove her from the meeting and silently! Permission to kill granted!" Hiruzen ordered and the woman was thrown out of the meeting, too shocked to protest. "I warned her! Now to settle the tax matter as well as…"

The meeting was later adjourned and the councilors displaced.

Meanwhile another meeting was taking place inside an apartment near the Konoha slums.

"So, it looks like the 'gardener' is on his way just as planned." said Naruto.

"It seems so but who will be the boss?" Hinata continued.

"A Jounin named Kakashi Hatake. I snuck inside the old man's office last night and read this guy's file." Naruto answered gaining interested nods from Hinata and Sasuke.

"Well?" the duck-ass intervened.

"Kakashi Hatake, also known as Copy-Ninja Kakashi or Sharingan no Kakashi." continued Naruto.

"Sharingan? Is he a hidden Uchiha that escaped the massacre?" a surprised Sasuke asked.

"No but let me finish first. As I was saying, Copy-Ninja Kakashi. A gifted shinobi who graduated the academy at the age of 5, got promoted to Chuunin at 6 and to Jounin at 13 years old. He was in the Gennin squad under the tutelage of Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of Konoha before his sensei became Hokage, with his teammates being Uchiha Obito and Rin…"

"Your dad was his sensei?" Hinata interrupted.

"So it would seem." Naruto answered before continuing. "He is said to have copied over a thousand jutsu and invented only one 'Chidori' (One thousand birds) and a more powerful variation 'Raikiri' (Lightning Blade), both being Raiton (Lightning style) assassination jabs for one hit kills. He is even said to have cut a lightning bolt in half using the second version." Naruto paused a minute looking at his teammates' surprised faces. "His father was Sakumo Hatake, Konoha's White Fang (Konoha no Shiroi Kiba) who was said to have surpassed the Sannin in his prime. His father committed honorary suicide after he was vilified by the Land of Fire and its people for abandoning his important mission to save his teammates." Naruto took a deep breath as he surveyed his friends' looks once again. Sasuke was boiling a little. It was something similar to what had happened to Itachi who chose to kill his clan for the good of Konoha only to be labeled a murderer and a missing-nin. Hinata on the other hand looked very sad and wondered if this was a result of the war hardening people's hearts. Naruto himself was somewhere in between. "This event made Kakashi think that rules are to be followed and respected no matter what the cost. During the Third Shinobi World War, he and his team was sent out to destroy the Kannabi Bridge near Kusagakure. Having just been promoted to Jounin he was appointed leader of his Chuunin teammates by their sensei who had another battle to fight. On their way to the target, they were ambushed by Iwagakure (Hidden in the Rock) shinobi who managed to capture their female teammate Rin. Obito apparently demanded that they go and save her but Kakashi, who was still traumatized by his father's death said that they had a mission and that 'Those who don't follow rules are trash!'. Obito then left on his own but not before praising Sakumo for his decisions and stating that 'Those who abandon their teammates are even worse than trash!'. Obito's attempt nearly failed but then Kakashi appeared and a battle took place during which your clansman…" he said turning to Sasuke "… awakened his Sharingan. They defeated the Iwa shinobi and nearly rescued Rin but the Iwas used a last technique that was supposed to collapse the cave they were in around them and bury them alive. Kakashi had injured his left eye in the previous battle and a rock hit him in his blind spot knocking him out. Obito then jumped in to help him and pushed him out of the way of another boulder coming in from above but did not have enough time to evade himself. When Kakashi came to he was shocked to find Obito on the ground with the right half of his body crushed under the boulder. After a conversation between them Rin, who was a medic-nin, transplanted Obito's Sharingan into Kakashi's left eye socket after your uncle had gifted him with it saying that 'With it I will see the future through you!". They were later saved by their sensei but Obito was buried further after the cave completely collapsed. That is how he acquired the Sharingan."

Naruto let out a sigh. When he read the report he was a well of emotion and was now worried about his teammates.

Hinata had tears in the corner of her eyes and was on the verge of crying so Naruto pulled her into an embrace. Sasuke on the other hand was sad but had a proud look on his face.

"Obito-san sacrificed his life for his teammates…" he said barely above a whisper.

"He was a hero Sasuke and I am proud to be a shinobi of the leaf with him as my sempai (senior)!" Naruto said, putting a hand on the Uchiha boy's shoulder.

"Hn!" Sasuke smiled and nodded.

"Back to Kakashi, I don't have anything useful except that he easily ranks into the top ten most powerful people in Konoha, maybe even five. Also his tracking skills are based on his chakra enhanced smell and that he signed the dog summon contract. A picture right now would be useless since we are going to meet the man in a couple of days. His favorite foods are salt-broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant, while his least favorites are anything fried or sweet, his hobby is reading and that he greatly dislikes being photographed without his mask, whatever that means." Naruto continued until he finally reached the end of the information he had.

"Hmm… that was interesting to say the least. I think that we should head back now and we will meet tomorrow as usual for training until the team placement meeting." argued Sasuke earning two nods.

"Oh and another thing that I forgot about Kakashi-san is that he is always chronically late at least two to three hours for everything but the most important things. There is even a joke running around that he will be three hours late for his own funeral!"

Naruto lifted the privacy seal and they went their separate ways with Sasuke heading for the Uchiha compound while Naruto and Hinata headed for the Hyuuga's.

Next Monday we find them sitting in their desk waiting to 'find out' who they were placed with on their teams.

After a boring introduction of what it means to be a shinobi from Iruka, finally came the team placements. Teams 'cannon fodder' were finished and now came our heroes' turn.

"Team seven will be formed of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and … _Ino Yamanaka _(A/N: _Just kidding!_) Hinata Hyuuga!" the scarred Chuunin read out with Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata high-five-ing each other and having the Sasuke fan club scream for blood but quickly silenced by a rush of KI coming from team 7. "Your Jounin sensei will be Kakashi Hatake!"

"Team eight will be formed by Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka and Sakura Haruno! Your Jounin sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi!"

"WHAT?" two voices called out, one noticeably louder than the other. "Sensei why do I get to be stuck with bug-boy and dog-breath? I want to be with Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried out.

"Shut it washboard! It's not like me and Akamaru want a flat-chested air-horn in our team! 'Arf'! Oh man I wanted to be with Hinata!" Kiba complained.

"What did you say fleabag?" Sakura threatened.

Kiba jumped in his seat but not because of the threat. He felt something far more menacing directed towards him. He looked down and saw Naruto who was sitting a few rows in front of him dangling two plums and waving a kunai around them slowly. He had the same face as the one on the day that Hanabi first 'asked' Naruto to train her. (A/N: _Remember?_) Kiba turned blue and sunk quietly into his seat.

"That is enough, both of you! Hokage-sama arranged the teams. If you have a problem then you can complain to him directly." Iruka scolded the two.

"Team nine is still in circulation. Team ten will be composed of Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi! Your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi."

"Oh great, I have lazy-bum and the human food vacuum-cleaner! At least Sakura isn't any better." Ino mumbled with Shikamaru whispering '_troublesome_' as usual.

Iruka then continued "You have one hour for lunch then you should come back here and wait for your senseis to pick you up! Class is dismissed!"

All teams got together and left. Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata shunshined to Ichiraku's place. When they got there they were immediately greeted by Ayame.

"Hey guys! Haven't seen you in a while!" she chirped.

"Hey Ayame-nee-chan! Sorry we've been busy with the exams." Naruto responded while rubbing the back of his head

"Naruto? What happened to you?" she asked blinking faster.

Naruto took a few seconds to register before it all sank in "Oh you mean the clothes? Well you know that I was fooling around in my academy years so now I'm back to normal." He answered smiling at the girl.

"Well, I have to say you look much better in this than that jumpsuit!" she commented.

"Yeah I know! Found that thing in the garbage of one of the shops. I have to say I agree with the owner throwing it away. Liked the orange though!" Naruto chirped the last part making everybody present roll their eyes.

"O-okay, the usual?" she answered.

"No, not today! We have to meet our sensei in about three hours or so. That means today we will take the light menu." the blond responded waiving his arm in a dismissal fashion.

Hinata turned to him "Naruto-kun, Iruka-sensei told us that lunch break is only an hour."

"Yeah, but remember the info. Sensei is notoriously late, remember? I hardly think that the meeting is as important to us as it is to him. Besides I left a clone there to let us know if he arrives there early and you know I can get us there in a 'flash'." he answered making Hinata smile and Sasuke smirk.

"Okay, so that will be one large fish ramen with tomatoes for Sasuke-kun , one medium azuki (red bean) ramen for Hinata-chan and six extra-large miso ramen for Naruto-kun." Ayame answered smiling and then shouted "Daad, one team light please!"

An adult man answered from behind the curtains "Is Naruto-kun here?"

"Yup!" his daughter answered.

"Okay, the first serving will be ready in five!"

Five minutes later the father-daughter duo exited bringing the first four bowls. Sasuke and Hinata started seasoning their food and then took the first spoon-full of the broth before turning to Naruto who was slowly savoring his… second bowl. They sweat-dropped as they could never get used to the blond's eating pace.

They exchanged small talk about how they expected their sensei to be based on the information as well as what training they should do after they made their team official and what missions they would undertake.

Two and a half hours later Naruto still didn't receive any memories from the clone meaning that Kakashi-sensei hadn't arrived yet. Even so they left the ramen booth and walked slowly to the academy and into the class where he dispelled the clone.

Inside, Naruto took out a scroll and unsealed a dual neck guitar that had quite an array of seals on it for power generation and sound amplification. Being able to make over a thousand clones for training purposes left Naruto with quite some time on his hands so he delved into the finer arts but after failing painting and sculpting he found out that he had quite a musical ear and a little bit of talent in two instruments, one of which was the guitar.

He sat in a comfortable position and began playing starting out with tapping and choosing to play _Fading Away_ by _Matthew McGhee_ (A/N _Love the song!_), switching through many other songs from his repertoire as time flew by. Besides killing boredom it had a relaxing effect on his teammates who didn't even noticed as an hour flew by.

Outside a certain Jounin was listening to the performance and, besides mentally applauding, he wondered if the Gennin could do sound based genjutsu (A/N _Similar to Tayuya_). After a while he decided to end the show and entered the room.

Naruto stopped performing and looked at the man, as did his teammates.

"Too bad, couldn't you have been one more minute late sensei? That was a good song!" Hinata smiled at the man as she spoke in a kind tone.

Kakashi eye-smiled and then answered "My first impression of you is that… your interesting. Meet me on the roof in five minutes!" he said and then shunshined away arriving on the roof and to one of the biggest surprises in his life. The Gennin were already there before him. Naruto was tuning his guitar, Sasuke was 'brooding' and Hinata was in the middle swinging her legs and smiling at the blond.

"W-when did you get here?" the Jounin asked pointing at them, his one eye visibly wide.

"Just before you sensei." Hinata answered.

"Oookay, so… let's introduce ourselves. You first blondie!" he said pointing at Naruto after regaining his composure.

"But sensei, we already know each other and besides didn't you read our files?" Naruto acted out loud still keeping half-a-mask on his intelligence.

Kakashi was taken by surprise a little bit "Y-yes I did but I would still like to hear it from you!" he eye-smiled halfheartedly.

'Liar! He lied now but was it about reading our files or about wanting to hear us? One more push!' Naruto mentally analyzed. "Why don't you go first sensei? We know about each other but we don't know a thing about you!"

"Okay! My name is Kakashi Hatake. You may call me Kakashi-sensei. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes… My dreams for the future… hmm… As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies…" he answered making the trio sweat-drop.

'Need to know basis huh? Also that means he is not that interested in us and thus means that he hasn't read our files, well two can play that game!' Naruto mentally smirked.

"Now you!" Kakashi continued looking at Naruto.

"Yosh! I am Uzumaki Naruto! My likes are ramen and people who are dear to me '_like my girlfriend Hinata-chan'_! I hate the three minutes it takes to cook ramen '_and salad_', people who judge others without knowing anything about them and especially people who try to hurt those that I find dear to me like my friends and family! My hobbies are training and music '_and Jikuukan (space-time) Ninjutsu'_! My dream is to be the greatest of all Hokage!" he shouted out loud returning fully to his 'dobe' mask but keeping any information that could be used against him secret.

Kakashi slowly nodded keeping his eye-smile 'So he is the ramen-loving dead-last that I heard about. Except his grades, he is just like you and Kushina, sensei.' the man thought.

His teammates had a different opinion 'I thought that we were supposed to drop our masks after graduating. What are you planning Naruto?' thought Sasuke. Hinata on the other hand was a little sad that he didn't mention her in his likes but decided to play along.

The scarecrow (Kakashi) then continued "I see! How about you?" he asked pointing to Hinata.

"M-my name is Hyuuga Hinata! I-I like c-cinnamon rolls, r-red bean soup and the ones that I l-love '_especially Naruto-kun and my family_'. I d-don't like c-crabs and sh-shrimp and arrogant p-people. My h-hobbies are, f-flower pressing, t-teaching J-Juken to my little s-sister and m-making medicinal g-goods. M-my dream is to b-become a g-great clan head '_and maybe a certain future Hokage's wife_'." She answered with her all too practiced stutter.

Kakashi nearly deadpanned 'Looks like she has confidence problems, but she seemed fine a little while ago, hmm… oh well." He then turned to Sasuke "You next emo!" he said making Naruto blue from keeping his laughter contained and making the duck-ass boy's eyebrow twitch.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone." he answered with practiced ease.

'An avenger… well this was expected.' thought his sensei. "Okay, now that that's settled… meet me tomorrow at training ground three at seven o'clock for the Gennin test." 'Here goes 3…2…1… … …. nothing?' All of them looked at him before Naruto began.

"Umm Kaka-sensei, can I ask what kind of test will it be?"

Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow 'I was expecting them to protest with the traditional _we already took the test _but, meh…'. "Well… a survival test! Out of the 27 or so Gennin that made it this year, only around nine will actually pass so it has a fail rate of 66 percent. Also I would recommend that you skip lunch, that is, if you don't want to puke. Gia-ne! (Bye)" and with that he shunshined away.

The Gennin sighed in unison.

Sasuke then turned towards the blond "Naruto wh…" He stopped when Naruto raised his hand, palm facing the brunette. He then flashed a few words in hand sign language that said 'Not here! Apartment." Sasuke nodded and they left on foot towards Naruto's apartment.

When they got there, Naruto closed the door and the curtains and as usual, activated Keeper of Secrets.

"Phew! Okay guys, I think that we're safe for now!" the blond smirked.

"What was that all about?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, Naruto! What gives with the masks and all?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"First of all, thanks for the assist!" Naruto smiled earning one smile (Hinata) and a smirk.

"No problem, now what was it about?" Sasuke commented.

"Well, remember that I asked him if he read our files? Well he was lying, at least that's what I deduced."

Both Sasuke and Hinata nodded. They knew Naruto's ability to spot through all but the best lies.

"So then I remembered the true Gennin test that Mikoto-san told us about, even though she would not tell us anything more about it. I thought that the element of surprise would come in handy so I decided to play the 'dobe' again for a tactical advantage but it thanks to you guys backing me up, now we got three!" Naruto smiled.

"Sneaky!" answered a giggling Hinata with Sasuke backing her up with his traditional "Hn" which had become more of a habit because of three years of wearing a power-hungry maniac mask.

"He-he! Now what do we do about tomorrow! Thanks to our little trick here, each of us could now probably kill him on our own but that isn't the problem…" Naruto began.

"The problem is that we don't know anything about tomorrow's test." Sasuke continued.

"Agreed! We should focus on what we know and speculate the others based on logic." Hinata added her own two cents.

"Okay, so what we do know is that Kaka-sensei is expecting three regular Gennin tomorrow but we have trained ourselves much harder and by observation we are now somewhere on the level of Tokubetsu (special) Jounin level. So, starting from that point we should have a clear advantage tomorrow." Naruto added.

"What about the food rule that Kakashi-sensei imposed?" asked Hinata.

"If I remember correctly, he 'recommended' not 'imposed' so we should at least eat a light breakfast and I will bring a seal scroll full of snacks and water or we will be down on power and, in my case, a 'little cranky'." Naruto answered crossing his arms and closing his eyes when he started hearing laughter. "What's so funny?" he asked a little dumbfounded.

"A little? I remember last time when you had to go through those medical examinations for the academy and you couldn't eat all day before them. The doctors were terrified of you!" Sasuke laughed.

"Oh come on! I'm not that bad!" Naruto tried to defend himself

"Even Hokage-sama was afraid of you!" giggled Hinata.

"Okay, maybe I am!" he laughed half-heartedly while rubbing the back of his head. He was immediately pulled into a kiss by Hinata.

"Yup, but I still love you!" she smiled.

He kindly smiled back at her "Love you too!"

"Ahem… are we finished or should I go for some air and leave you two love-birds alone?" Sasuke smirked.

"Jealous?" Naruto smirked back.

Sasuke broadened his smirk and whispered _"Maybe…"_ but it was loud enough for them to hear and feel bad.

"Don't worry Sasuke, I'm sure that you will find the one soon! I mean you are the great and _nearly_ last of the mighty Uchiha!" Naruto patted him on the shoulder inflating his pride. "Hn" was all the blond got for an answer.

They finished making their plans for the next day and convened that they would meet at the training ground at 8:30 with Naruto sending a clone in advance just in case since he never slept until more than six o'clock in the morning.

So they did and when they got to training ground three there was no surprise that their sensei did not show up yet. So, after some light stretching, Naruto unsealed his second musical instrument which was a beautiful electric violin with a similar seal array as his guitar and started playing the violin version of _Kiss the Rain _by _Yiruma_ but like in the classroom there was still plenty of time and so Naruto kept switching songs to keep busy. Eventually another half an hour later and Kakashi shunshined in and found himself listening to one of the blond's improvisations that reminded him of a beautiful flower field that he passed once in the Land of Grass (Kusa no Kuni – A/N: _Fan-name!_). Once again Naruto stopped his performance when he felt his sensei near.

"Kind of late, aren't you sensei?" Naruto shrugged.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life." he answered without a shred of shame.

"You really couldn't come up with a better excuse than that sensei?" ask Sasuke in a monotonous fashion.

"Meh... Aren't you more interested in today's test?" he asked while setting down an alarm clock on a stump and taking out two bells. "Okay here's the deal. You have until noon to get one bell from me. Who doesn't have a bell by the end of the allowed time will be tied to one of the stumps over there." he continued pointing to the three close logs that were embedded in the ground "and I will eat lunch in front of you!" he said flashing his eye-smile and pausing to hear stomach growls but heard none. He looked at them in wonder.

"So that's why you said not to eat breakfast. Sorry sensei but we didn't follow that 'recommendation'." Sasuke answered with his patented 'bad-boy' smirk.

Kakashi was indeed surprised by this but then grinned under his mask 'Hmm… I'm sure Sasuke saw through my deception and told the others. Well he is the rookie of the year after all. But this sure is a first!' the man thought.

"Oh well, but breakfast won't save you from being sent back to the academy. Whoever doesn't have a bell by noon will be sent back another year!"

"B-but sensei, t-there are only t-two bells." Hinata said keeping her shy-girl appearance.

"Indeed. That means that one of you will be sent back so come at me with the will to kill." the scarecrow answered emotionlessly. "Are you ready?" he asked and they got into a stance "BEGIN!" he ordered but they just stood there.

"Well aren't you and interesting bunch but you will not get a bell like this." he eye-smiled.

"Do you mean these bells sensei?" Naruto innocently asked while dangling the bells in front of him.

The scarecrow's visible eye bulged as he looked at the bells and then at his waist where he formerly attached them to find nothing there. He quickly used his Jounin speed and recovered them from the blond who intentionally put up no resistance.

"Yes, these bells." Kakashi eye-smiled to them while attaching the bells again. "I never said I wouldn't do something to get them back."

"G-get what b-back sensei?" (you guessed who)

Kakashi sighed "The bells of course."

"You mean these bells?" Naruto smirked in an evil fashion and dangled them in the same way.

Kakashi gulped and looked at his waist again to find them missing… again "WHA? How do you do that?" 'I didn't even sense him move when he got them! Hell, I didn't sense any movement at all!' He shunshined and recovered the two musical balls and this time tied them to his belt more securely with ninja wire and added a little bit of chakra to make them stick.

"Well? What are you going to do now?" he looked at them menacingly.

They all jumped for cover.

'Hmm… good, they know how to hide, but what was with Naruto-kun earlier? I guess I should have just read his file.' He admonished himself for underestimating them. Not that he would find anything interesting about Naruto's abilities in the dossier since the Hokage kept Naruto's Jikuukan abilities top secret.

When he was safely high up in a tree Naruto started to formulate a plan. He then summoned two small four-winged dragons the size of chickens, one red and one blue, who quickly jumped on his shoulders after he motioned them to stay silent.

"_You summoned us Naruto-sama?_" the red one whispered.

"_Yes Ikki. I need you and Niki to find Sasuke and Hinata. When you find them, tell them I have sent you and touch them on the back of their necks, and quietly tell them…!"_ the blond whispered his orders and, after a few hand-signs, seal patterns rose from his sleeves and up the dragon's bodies.

"_Hai!_" they answered and then swooped off in the directions of their targets. They found them relatively quickly since they knew their scents. Ikki was the first to find Hinata.

"_Hinata-sama!"_ the red dragon whispered to the girl who saw him coming with his Byakugan.

"_Ikki-kun!" _

"_Naruto-sama sent you something and said that when you feel the buzzing, relax." _the young dragon answered and then flew to Hinata's back and then her neck. The seal patterns that were on him transferred to her and a seal similar to the Kyuubi seal appeared on her cervical vertebrae. Something similar happened with Sasuke. A few moments later and the seals buzzed into life and they heard Naruto's voice in their heads.

'Guys, can you hear me? Don't speak, just think of the seal and think!' Naruto transmitted.

'Naruto-kun!' answered Hinata.

'Naruto, how is it that we can hear each other's thoughts?' Sasuke curiously asked.

'It's a telepathy-seal project that I'm working on but it only lasts fifteen minutes now. I'll tell you about it later but now we have to discuss our plan of action!' the boy answered.

'You're right but what can we do? He will not let us keep the bells!' Hinata notified.

'Then we have to keep him from stopping us from keeping them.' Sasuke commented.

'I think that there is more to this test.' Naruto commented barely above a whisper.

'What?' both teammates asked.

'Think about what we talked about yesterday! He is expecting average Gennin and they can't take on a Jounin, the power difference is just too big, especially since it's one of the strongest Jounin in the village. And the bell test, I see you saw through that as well since we are not fighting amongst ourselves.'

'Yeah, who does he think we are? There has never been such a thing as a three-man cell, and rookies are never sent to the reserves unless there is an uneven number in the graduate class.' answered Sasuke.

'Indeed! So the test isn't about getting the bells, it's about teamwork! He's trying to split us up!' Hinata continued.

'Good, so let's think of a good plan! I propose we…' Naruto began and they continued planning until the seals faded.

Meanwhile Kakashi was getting a little restless. He could follow them by scent and knew, that except the earlier two blurs that he couldn't identify, nothing moved between them. In fact they stayed in the same place almost fifteen minutes. Not that Kakashi complained mind you. As soon as they got into their respective hiding places he took out an orange book (A/N _You know what!_) and started giggling like an idiot but as soon as insects or leaves even approached the novel, he would either set them on fire or kill them using a kunai with Jounin precision. This fact didn't escape the sights of three pairs of eyes. The man was starting to wonder if he should go after them or keep reading.

A couple of minutes after the conversation there was a rustling in some bushes near Kakashi. The man barely lifted his gaze at the girl who was gently walking his way with her fingers poking together and looking at the ground.

"K-Kakashi-sensei, I h-have a question." She slowly approached the man while turning her head and looking away.

"Hmm? Well I will answer if I can but do you think that this is time well spent?" the man sighed.

"Well, K-Kakashi-sensei I w-was just wondering w-what would h-happen if somebody say b-burned that book?" she asked pointing to his Icha Icha novel.

The skies darkened and Kakashi's visible eye took on a very scary silvery shine as lightning bolts came raining down and KI flooded the area making birds fly and insects die. Just as fast as it all began the scenery changed to one of pure paradise and Kakashi eye-smiled as he answered "That wouldn't be … pleasant for the one who did it." he explained.

"I-I see. One more q-question sensei." Hinata began while turning her side to the man while her face was outside his view. "H-Have you e-ever h-heard of a t-technique called … 'Hakke Rokujūyon Shō' (eight trigrams sixty-four palms)"

She shouted out the last part and then turned to her sensei who got hit by the first four strikes before he got out of her range.

'What the hell? I thought that she was a shy girl with confidence problem but she didn't have a problem attacking me with a lethal technique! I got to … OH SHIT, HERE SHE COMES AGAIN!' he thought as he ducked under a palm strike and then jumped back for distance but Hinata saw this and after saying "You're not getting away so easily sensei!" she deactivated her bands which were a good 375 equivalent pounds and blurred out of sight only to land a devastating strike to Kakashi's hand who was still holding his book, not having enough time to put it away. The arm went numb and dropped the precious reading material.

"BOOKIE!" Kakashi dramatized but Hinata retreated. Kakashi was too worried about his precious porn to notice this and even barely registered hearing "'Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!'"

He looked to his right and saw Sasuke getting ready to breath-out the technique.

'No way! A Gennin shouldn't have the chakra to perform such a technique!' the thought but it was soon washed away as Sasuke breathed out a fireball three times the Jounin's size (A/N _Think the first Grand Fireball used against Naruto at the Valley of the End._). The man performed a quick Kawarimi with a log outside the range of the flames but then remembered something important.

"BOOOOKIIEEE! NOOOOO!" he screamed while grabbing the sides of his face in horror.

"You mean this Kakashi-sensei?" he heard a familiar voice call out to him. He turned his head and found Naruto holding his 'bookie' but it was covered in explosive tags. "Hand over the bells and promise that you will not try to get them back or else!" the blond demanded moving his hand into an activation seal but not completely.

Now Kakashi was a serious Jounin with years of experience so he reacted accordingly.

"Okay! Okay! Just don't do anything rash!" he tried to negotiate.

"Bells, now!" Naruto ordered moving his hand even higher.

"Sure, here! Just give me back my baby!" he screamed while throwing the bells to Naruto who, after checking them for tricks, removed the tags from the book and threw it to Kakashi who nearly stumbled catching it. "Oh baby! Don't ever frighten me like that ever again!" he said while hugging the poor thing. "Now, I think that this calls for a little punishment!" she chuckled menacingly. He grabbed the book tight and then shunshined behind Naruto holding a tiger-seal.

"Kakashi-sensei, stop! You promised!" Hinata yelled.

"Ninja rule no.1, a shinobi's best weapon is deception _'and lies'_!" he answered fast before shouting 'Konohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ōgi: Sennen Goroshi;' (One thousand years of death) before performing a chakra enhanced … ass-poke on the blond sending him flying into the forest while recovering the bells.

He smiled an evil eye-smile before turning to his book. When he wanted to open it, it 'poofed' into smoke. "WHA?"

"How right you are sensei!" Naruto shouted from the other side of where Kakashi 'sent' him. "But you forgot that ninja have a lot of rule no.1 like don't forget to sharpen your kunai or don't sit in a chair with explosive notes in your pants' back-pockets… and don't forget to expect your opponent to see through your lies and …" Naruto became quiet as another copy of him came from behind the original holding the true book and saying "…always check for Shadow Clones and Henged Shadow Clones!"

Kakashi was now really worried "Umm… Naruto, look, I'm sorry, okay? Just don't hurt 'Bookie', I beg you!" the porn addict was trembling.

"Well… okay!" clone Naruto answered and threw the book at the man but before he caught it the original made the activation hand-sign and the book exploded into a thousand burning pieces thanks to a hidden low power exploding tag.

Kakashi was devastated and fell to his knees crying tears of blood as paper pieces flew through his open arms.

"Shinobi rule no. 1 sensei! Always expect payback!" Naruto smirked at the man.

Suddenly birds began to die and grass began to wither as KI that rivaled a Bijuu poured out of Kakashi who now had a black flame-like aura around him and his eyes were that of a deranged murderer.

The man charged forward in a straight direction towards the blond, screaming "YOU WILL PAY FOR…" but before he could finish, thanks to his speed and state of mind landed him into the same seal that was used to trap Mikoto on the night of the Uchiha massacre.

"Well this thing takes a hellu'va lot of time to set up, but it's worth it!" the blond smiled.

"Do you think this will hold me for long?" Kakashi raged.

"Not really but look around you!" Naruto smirked.

Kakashi calmed down enough to do as the boy asked and found Hinata and Sasuke on each side, the girl in a Hakke stance and the boy holding the tiger seal.

"We will ask only once! Give up!" continued the blond.

The scarecrow growled a bit before he was overwhelmed by the KI released by the three Gennin and found it difficult to breathe.

"I-I give up! You all pass!" he answered, fear washing away his anger.

The trio took back their KI and Naruto released the seal with Kakashi dropping on his knees panting a little before asking "Gennin shouldn't possess such killing intent that could overwhelm a war veteran! How?"

"Well Kurama-nii-san taught us how to resist his and from there we realized how to project it ourselves." Naruto answered smiling.

"Kurama?" the man raised an eyebrow. He knew that the boy was adopted a long time ago into the Hyuugas, though he never wondered why. But now he was wondering if there was someone in the compound who possesses such monstrous KI.

"You know him as the Kyuubi. And before you ask, yes the Hokage knows. Ask him for the story because I don't want to tell it _again_." Naruto sighed.

"O-Okay." the Jounin answered while slowly getting off the ground. As soon as he was standing up a piece of paper flew by his face. He then slumped into sadness as he was sobbing "_*Sniff* Bookie * Sniff_" closing his eye while aiming his face to the ground.

"Kaka-sensei!"

"Leave me alone Naruto! You passed now leave me to mourn my loss!" he ordered earning an eye roll.

"Umm Kaka-sensei!"

"Naruto I thought I told you to …" Kakashi shot up his face to chase away the boy but found something he wasn't expecting.

Naruto was smiling in front of him while presenting the man a nicer, thicker version of his book but with golden rims. The cover was the same except that it now read '_Icha Icha Paradise: Extended Limited Edition!_'.

"A peace offering Kaka-sensei!" Naruto chuckled.

The man slowly picked up the book and when he opened it light shot forth from the pages as Kakashi stared in awe.

"Naruto, where did you get this? I offered my right arm for one but it's so rare! Only fifty have ever been published and … IT'S SIGNED?"

"First print of its edition too!" Naruto smiled toothily.

"HOW?" Kakashi nearly cried.

"I have my sources. You can keep this one, I have another. Are we square? (even)" the blond shot his hand to his sensei to shake his hand but the sensei grabbed it and pulled the boy in a hug.

"Of course we are! Thank you! Thank you!" he let go of the blond when the alarm clock rang. "Ahem… congratulations for passing the test! Just a couple of questions before you are dismissed. First, when did you figure out that it was a test for teamwork?"

"From the start of course! You didn't actually expect anyone to fall into that sort of trap did you? I mean it is academy knowledge that rookie Gennin are either accepted into four man cells or none at all. There have never been rookie reserves. You are either in or out!" answered Sasuke.

Kakashi just eye-smiled but then continued "Why did you act like that when we first met and how strong do you guys think you are?"

"We can't tell you why we hid ourselves, not here. As for strength, Naruto-kun says that the three of us are Tokubetsu Jounin level missing only the experience required. Although…" Hinata answered before Sasuke interrupted her

"He is stronger than us, probably elite Jounin level. Strength wise only, to my displeasure, he could probably wipe the floor with us and go toe to toe with the Hokage, though considering everything else like experience and knowledge, he could probably go toe to toe with both of us." Sasuke answered while smirking.

Naruto just rubbed the back of his head a little embarrassed by the attention "Come on guys! I'm not that much stronger than you!"

"And modest too…" Hinata giggled.

Kakashi was dumbstruck but recovered his composure "O-okay… Third question. Naruto, how did you steal the bells from me at first?"

Naruto then turned serious and said "Again it is something that can't be answered here. Just one clue _Jikuukan Ninjutsu_." Naruto said while whispering the last part.

Kakashi now had his only eye as big as a quarter of his face 'Jikuukan Ninjutsu, like sensei's Hiraishin, but he's too youn… ah forget it! You know what? Nothing they told me would surprise me anymore!' he thought and boy will he be wrong.

"Alright, were done here. Report tomorrow at training ground seven at seven for your first D-rank missions and some training." Kakashi eye-smiled expecting excitement but found gloominess. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"D-ranks! We heard about them. Neji-nii-san has a teammate one year older than us and he can't hold his liquor down so we got the brief. Babysitting, painting, cleaning? Those are chores!" Hinata cried.

"Oh come on Hinata-chan, they can't be that bad!" Naruto said half-heartedly "Right sensei?" he asked but the man just whistled away.

'OH BOY!' all three Gennin thought.

Naruto then jumped into action "A-Anyway, I have another question sensei! How many teams did you catch with this test? I mean there couldn't be more than one or two morons who just wouldn't understand teamwork, right?" Naruto smirked.

Kakashi eye-smiled but sighed "You are my first team." the man answered.

… … …

"WHAT?" the trio yelled in unison.

"Yeah that's how it is. Oh well… do you have anything more questions or can I go report to the Hokage?" the man continued.

"Only one: Is it true that you're planning on being three hours late for your own funereal?" Sasuke asked but everyone got the hidden meaning that he was actually asking if Kakashi will be late tomorrow.

Kakashi looked at the brunet with surprised but then cheered and answered "Yup!" before shunshining away.

Later that day inside the Hokage tower.

"All Jounin sensei report the status of your teams!" Hiruzen ordered.

Teams cannon fodder 1-6 failed so we will skip them.

"Team eight passed but just barely." Kurenai sighed "Sakura Haruno nearly jeopardized the entire team. I had them track and capture me and I have to say I am disappointed in her performance. She has inherited her mother's mouth and so I could tell she is coming a mile away from hearing her complaints about not being in the team with 'her Sasuke-kun'" Kurenai argued and the Jounin cringed "Also, while it is true that she is very talented in chakra control, she has done nothing to improve on those talents. Her only trait is that she is book smart but she has been dieting and has nearly no physical strength or stamina, wears so much perfume that she could attract a hive of bees from a hundred yards away and has been caught in a D-rank genjutsu that showed Uchiha-kun dying and she fainted. I hope I can bring her out of it or she will die very young. She shows promise in the fact that she acted as bait while her teammates acted in subduing me after Aburame Shino convinced her with his logic but she is in constant friction with Kiba Inuzuka who, because of his clan's genes and puberty is now searching for a 'receptor' to 'discharge' his 'hormones' and thought that I would be one…" all people in the room cringed even more "… and approached me during lunch break but for some reason backed off when I used my kunai to eat some pickled plums. End of report."

"Very well, next?" Sarutobi Sr. asked.

"Team ten passed! Shikamaru provided the tactical mind while Ino proved her leadership abilities and coordinated the plan while Choji provided the muscle to overcome the challenge I gave them. End of report!"

"Good that just leaves …" the old Kage was interrupted by a poof, out of which Kakashi appeared.

"Sorry I'm late! I got stuck playing twenty questions with my Gennin team!" the scarecrow eye-smiled but started sweating when he noticed everyone's glares on him "What?"

"Who are you?" asked Asuma "That excuse actually sounded believable!"

Kakashi sweat-dropped "That's because it is the truth!"

"Enough! Kakashi, what is your team's status?"

"Team seven … passed with flying colors!" the masked ninja chirped.

At the end of his sentence he opened his one eye and found everybody except the Hokage standing in guard, some even had kunai at the ready.

"Whaat?" Kakashi began to sweat again.

"That's it! You are not Kakashi! Come quietly or things will get nasty! Ibiki will figure who you are!" Kurenai answered.

"I said ENOUGH! Kakashi report!" Hiruzen ordered.

"Right! Yesterday when I… eventually met them at the academy I thought that they were the biggest bunch of misfits the system ever produced. One seemed to be a cheerful talented musician loudmouth dobe, one a dark brooding avenger emo and one a sheltered shy princess." Kakashi began, slouching a little and gaining sympathetic looks from the crowd. "But boy did they take me for a ride! I gave them the bell test and I have to say that the dead-last was the one who got the bells from me twice without me even feeling it." the Jounin continued making everyone there raise their eyebrows. "After I recovered and secured them even more they took cover and stayed in their place and nothing seemed to circulate between them except two small blurs that I couldn't identify the smell of. I was pondering if I should go after them myself but then they showed up, revealing their true colors." These words raised another set of eyebrows. "The first one to approach me was the so called 'shy princess' who in fact was a confident young woman that had no problem going for my vitals and made me drop 'bookie'. Next came the 'emo' that turned out to be a strong team-player and backed her up with a strong C-rank Katon jutsu. Finally the 'loudmouth dobe' appeared and he was the biggest surprise of them all!" Kakashi paused.

"Please continue Kakashi-san!" Asuma requested.

"As I was saying the 'dobe' was in fact the de-facto leader of the group and actually had the guts to hold 'bookie' as hostage in exchange for the bells." Kakashi cringed and inhaled.

Hiruzen was smirking as wide as he could "And?"

"I of course lied about that and taught them shinobi rule no. 1 deception is the greatest weapon of a ninja and when I got my precious back…" he began earning deadly glares from the women Jounin, "I used 'Sennen Goroshi' as punishment but … as the rumors said, it turned out that both the 'kidnaper' and the 'hostage' were Shadow Clones. They pulled a fast one on me! Anyway the real one appeared together with another clone and the negotiations began again and when I thought I had won, he killed bookie with an explosive tag in front of me!" Kakashi growled making the men in the room feel sympathetic towards the Gennin and the women to giggle. "I lost my temper and charged at the 'dobe' but he caught me in a high-level … Fūin that disrupted my chakra and froze my body!"

"Did you say Fūin? A high-level one?" Asuma questioned.

"Yes I did. It was at least B-rank or higher. Anyway, I could have eventually escaped but his two teammates surrounded me and, besides holding me at jutsu point, they even overpowered me with KI." The man admitted, feeling a little ashamed.

"You mean to say three wet-behind-the-ears Gennin overpowered a Jounin war veteran with Killer Intent?" Kurenai jumped.

"Yes. As shameful as it may have been, I underestimated them severely and they could have killed me in that moment, so I had no choice but to pass them. Not that it would happen again I might add. End of report" Kakashi responded, trying to save a little of his pride.

"Very well Kakashi! I am happy that you finally got a team, and I'm … sorry for your loss!" fellow porn lover Hiruzen grieved earning hateful glares and smirks from the women.

"That's alright Hokage-sama! Naruto… he… hooked me up with a better one!" drama queen Kakashi strikes again this time holding his new book.

The Hokage looked at it like it was a sacred object in awe and the women were fuming.

"Kakashi, where did you get that? Jiraya told me that he mailed one to me three days ago and judging the postal service record, I still have to wait!" Hiruzen wondered.

"Like I said Hokage-sama, from Naruto, though he wouldn't tell me how." Kakashi eye-smiled.

'Naruto! I'm going to have to pay him a visit tonight!' Kurenai thought.

"Alright that is all! Dismissed!" the Hokage ordered. "Except you Kakashi! I have something to discuss with you in my office."

"Hai!"

Back at the Hyuuga compound, Naruto and Hinata returned after their team celebrations.

They told Haruko that they passed and that they were going to go train. She told them that tonight there will be a small party to congratulate them and they smiled and nodded before leaving.

Ten minutes later Kurenai appeared.

"Hello Hiashi-sama, Haruko!" Kurenai smiled but her eye visibly twitched.

"Greetings Kurenai!" Hiashi nodded.

"Hello, what brings you here?" Haruko answered.

"I was looking for Naruto. I have something to… discuss with him." Kurenai continued.

"Well he just returned from his Gennin exam and he is training with Hinata in his room. You know he passed by the way right?" Haruko chirped.

"Really now? I must congratulate them as well." Hiashi claimed, rising up from his desk.

They made their way to Naruto's room and when they got there they knocked.

"Yes?" Naruto answered.

"Naruto-kun, may we come in?" Haruko chirped.

"Yes! It's open!" the cheerful blond answered.

They slid the door open and found something that brought their jaws to sea-level. Naruto, who was sitting on his two seat sofa in his training kimono, was holding Hinata under one arm and an orange book with golden edges in the other. There was a strange smell in the air and on the small coffee table in front of them there was a clear bottle with a pink rose colored liquid in it. Hinata was holding a small glass of that liquid. She was dressed in a long t-shirt and had beige shorts but other than that nothing.

Hiashi recognized the smell and the book and exploded.

"Tell me Naruto-kun, why are you holding my daughter while reading porn she is drinking alcohol?" he trembled with anger.

"Training of course!" the blond smiled back not really aware of the situation or not caring about it. Hinata on the other hand had the decency to blush… more, as the book and the substance already did a number on her.

Hiashi snapped "Training? I'm going to show you tr…" but before he could finish Haruko tapped one of his neck' pressure points and he instantly became a white frozen mass.

"Be quiet dear! Now, Naruto-kun, would you explain what this training is about because to us it looks more like you are trying to corrupt Hinata." Haruko asked kindly but she was barely restraining herself as well. Kurenai was too shocked to react.

"What? I thought I promised you I won't go over the line with Hinata until we are sixteen, plus we have been going through this since we had our hitai-ate! I asked your permission last Tuesday!" Naruto defended.

*Flashback*

"Haruko-san?" Naruto was standing at the door of the main house.

Haruko was deep into practicing some katas and was very focused on them since her body was rusty. "Yes dear?"

"Since Hinata and I are now shinobi, we will be going on infiltration missions in the future so I wanted your permission to train Hinata in bar information extraction!" Naruto asked.

Haruko did a couple more strikes and then returned to the basic defense form. "Of course you can Naruto-kun."

"Thank you!"

*Flashback end*

"Oh dear, I guess I did!" Haruko brought her hand to her mouth.

"You didn't remember something like that?" Kurenai turned to her.

"I guess I was so into my training that I didn't hear the word bar." the woman said sticking out her tongue in a playful fashion. As shinobi they knew that bar information extraction was usually about two thing, alcohol and sex. So a good shinobi, especially a kunoichi was supposed to know how to keep her liquor down while pushing all the right buttons on her target, to a limit.

Haruko then turned to Naruto "Alright, I guess I can't punish you for this since you got permission but, where did you get these… training materials?

"Well, the book I got from you-know-who. He still owes me big time by the way. The sweet sake I bought from the store." Naruto explained.

"You bought sake? How?" Haruko asked but Kurenai already knew the answer so she began.

"Shinobi special laws. When a person receives his hitai-ate he is officially recognized by his village as an adult." the red eyed woman sighed.

"Article 223 to be more precise!" Naruto chirped "I won't bore you with the fine print but it basically says that 'if you're old enough to kill, you're old enough to drink'!"

"Oookay!" Haruko answered "But what is this 'training' that you are doing?"

"Well, you might have already guessed that I'm immune to alcohol thanks to my Ranpu chakra so now I'm building Hinata's resistance to the stuff while loosening her mind so she doesn't faint from reading this book to gain some information on how to flirt for infiltration and reconnaissance missions. It won't be good if she can't use her 'womanly charms' to get some drunkard to talk." (A/N: _Hey, she may be stronger but she is still Hinata!_) Naruto explained. "I'm also keeping the stuff from overwhelming and hurting her. I flash my Ranpu chakra into her system every now and then, so she won't pass out and she definitely won't have a hangover tomorrow. Medic-nin's honor!" he said making a salute with the hand he was holding Hinata but not really disturbing the girl.

"Well, what you say is true about the bar part but you know I could have taught both of you on the subject without the … gears." Kurenai said pointing at the bottle and the book.

"And how long would that take? Imagine Hinata without alcohol trying to learn a simple pickup line!" Naruto smirked.

They all put their imagination to use and saw the same thing, which was Hinata glowing red and passing out. Haruko giggled and Kurenai felt like a headache was rising.

"You have a point!" Kurenai sighed. "Okay you win, but if you need any help you can come find me and I'll do my best to assist you." and she left the room together with Haruko who was dragging Hiashi who was barely mumbling "B-but honey!"

"Oh, boy!" Naruto sighed but was surprised by a kiss coming from Hinata who giggled. The blond smiled and returned to the 'lectures'.

Many days later…

"Team leader here, report!" a voice buzzed.

"Sasuke here, approaching point A."

"Hinata here, in position – point C."

"Naruto here, passed point B, requesting permission to engage the target."

"Team leader again. Naruto you have a go!"

Just then Naruto jumped from the trees and a figure lifted its head from the shadows.

"Tora! Here girl!" Naruto shouted.

The figure then blurred out of sight and shot towards the blond's open arms. A few moments later Naruto caught the target as his teammates and sensei swarmed around him.

"Bowtie on its ear, its Tora." Sasuke commented as he watched the cat purring away in Naruto's arms.

"Mission accomplished team! Time, just over fifteen minutes. Let's return and collect our pay." Kakashi eye-smiled.

"Hai!" they answered and shunshined to the Hokage Tower.

Inside the building we find Hiruzen together with Iruka and some other Chuunin managing the mission office.

"Kakashi, that was quick." the old man smiled but couldn't help be surprised. "You've beaten the previous record by three hours and 47 minutes."

"I have a great team Hokage-sama, besides it took us more to find her than to catch her. She doesn't seem to be hostile towards Naruto-kun, quite the opposite I might add." the Cyclops commented and the blond's two teammates patted the boy's back.

"Long story sensei." Hinata smiled.

Just then the doors opened and a plump (to say the least) woman entered the room.

"Oh my precious Tora-chan, why did you run away from mommy again?" she commented while petting the cat who purred in her arms.

"Hello Shijimi-san! Nice to see you again! How is Daimio-sama?" Naruto chirped towards the woman.

"Naruto-kun! Is that you? My you've grown so much! I haven't seen you since you were this big! My husband missed you too!" she said while hugging the boy who returned the favor "I see you became a ninja like you wanted to! That's why Tora-chan came back so quickly. I think that this deserves a bonus. Thank you Hokage-san!" she said while placing a lot of ryo on the man's desk before turning back to the boy "I followed your advice Naruto-kun and thanks to it, Tora isn't running away as often but I just can't break her out of it." the woman slumped.

"Well Shijimi-san, cats like a little bit of freedom, it's in their ancestry. House cats come from solitary wild felines that occupy large territories so you can't really expect them to be like dogs. I think you should give her more space at a time little by little, perhaps I can help you with that. Do you have a piece of paper?" He asked and the woman looked through her purse and brought out a notebook.

"Will this do?" she asked.

"Perfect." Naruto claimed. He ripped out a piece of paper from it and then did five hand-seals and then placed one hand on Tora and the other on the paper. Two seal formulas appeared, one on Tora's tail forming a thin ring, just above the beginning of the tail, and another one on the piece of paper that looked like a circle made of seal-symbols and an arrow in the middle pointing towards the cat.

"This is a basic locator seal that shinobi use to find hidden object that they stashed away. It will last around two to three months but you can use it to find her if you are really worried but I would recommend that you just wait a day before she gets hungry and she will be on her own. The seal also becomes red if somebody else touches Tora so you will know if she's safe or not!" Naruto smiled while explaining.

"I will try to do it like that though I don't know if I can't stop worrying about her. Thank you Naruto-kun!" Shijimi smiled and took the seal engraved paper. Naruto bowed in return.

The blond then turned to the others to find them all except Hinata gawking at him.

"What?" he puzzled.

"How do you know the Daimio and his wife?" Kakashi asked.

"Like Hinata-chan said, long story."

Hiruzen was the first to snap out of it and cleared his throat catching everyone's attention.

"Well team seven I have to congratulate you again! That was your hundredth mission and I have to say that is one more record down. Taking around seven D-ranks per day, the village never looked better." Hiruzen smiled.

It has been a little over three weeks since team seven began taking D-ranks and thanks to a certain blond and his army of shadow clones they would finish each mission in record time and still have time to train. It also helped that the said boy had experience dealing with chores from working at the hospital or helping the Hyuuga staff.

The Kage continued "Now then I guess you want another mission let's see… babysitting a councilor's son while he is away, painting the academy fence, helping an old woman with her garden."

Kakashi looked at his team. Naruto looked fine but not excited though the other two were a little down since they had their fill of D-ranks but stayed silent. The scarecrow mentally sighed 'I hope I won't get scolded for this but here goes!'

"Hokage-sama, as leader of team seven I declare that my team is ready for a higher level mission!" the man said and noticed how his Gennin visibly perked up.

"But Kakashi, isn't it too early? I mean traditionally, every team spends at least two months on D-ranks!" Iruka snapped.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto spoke up "I understand your concerns but you personally should know what I am capable of and I can personally vouch for Sasuke and Hinata-chan! Besides, traditions are customs not rules."

Iruka thought for a moment but then surrendered to the boy's words and sad down with a sigh "You're right." said the man.

Hiruzen chuckled a bit "Well team seven, do you think you are capable of handling a C-rank mission?"

"Hai!" they all answered.

"Good, now let's see… we have an escort and protection mission to Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves)."

"Who are we to guard?" Sasuke asked.

Hiruzen tapped his intercom "Send in Tazuna-san!"

At that moment the door opened and a half-drunk man entered (A/N _You all know Tazuna!_) carrying a huge bottle of booze.

"What's this? You're handing me over to a bunch of gaki? They all look like they just stopped wetting their beds…" the team still kept their professional appearance while he took another swig of sake "Especially the frail looking blind girl! I…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence when he noticed that he was only holding the neck of the bottle, the rest of it appeared to be sliced off. In front of him was Naruto who was smiling sweetly like Haruko but in his hand he was holding Meian who was covered in a greenish-blue energy (wind chakra).

"I would be careful when insulting shinobi Tazuna-san! Deception is key in our line of work and so looks can be deceiving. Other than that I would also recommend not to insult my girlfriend …" Naruto continued lifting Meian dangerously close to the man's 'jewels' "Ever again!"

Tazuna nodded furiously and the blade and it faded out of existence while the rest were chuckling silently and Hinata was blushing a little too.

"Sorry for your booze!" Naruto continued "Was that Kiri Sake?"

"Yeah. My last bottle too!" the man slumped.

"Oh man I think I did you a favor! How could you drink that horse-piss?" Naruto pretended to spit to the side before unsealing a huge-ass 15 litre bottle from a scroll "Here! Try some of this!".

Tazuna took a sip for good measure and he felt electrocuted in a good way. "WOW! What is this?"

"Ten year old sake from Oto no Kuni (Sound), formerly named Ta no Kuni (Land of rice – sake is rice wine). Second best sake in the world, only passed by the 'Densetsu no Sake' (Legendary Sake- A/N _It appeared in ch 11 of Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden_!) also called 'Hokage Sake'"

"How come you have it?" Tazuna asked.

"I bought it of course! Took a lot of money too. Shinobi laws 'old enough to kill, old enough to drink'." He added the last part since that was what Tazuna was actually wondering "You can keep that one, I have a full crate sealed away! Sake doesn't affect me because I have a 'condition' so I never get drunk or have a hangover but I like the buzz!" Naruto smirked.

"Heh I like you kid. Okay I'll take you! You are to protect me and my super bridge while I travel to do my super work!" Tazuna shouted.

"So you are an engineer?" Hinata asked.

"No, I'm a super carpenter but I manage the bridge construction!"

"Can I ask why do you need protection if you are only building a bridge?" Naruto asked.

Tazuna visibly tensed but answered "Well because my country is full of bandits and they will think that we are super rich if they see us building the bridge!"

'Liar!' thought Naruto and his teammates picked up on this. They knew Naruto all too well so they could even guess what he was thinking sometimes by how he acted. This was one of those times.

"Oh! So there will be no shinobi to handle only thugs?" Naruto slouched on purpose.

"Y-yes that's right!" Tazuna smiled.

'Another lie! This looks troublesome… did I just think like Shikamaru?'

Kakashi intervened "Okay, okay, that's enough talk for now! We are to meet tomorrow morning at seven o'clock at the gates and we will head out! And team, this time no funeral." he told them and they snickered.

"Okay, you guys go on ahead. I want to talk a bit with Jijii!" Naruto continued. Hiruzen regained the boy's trust a while ago so they were back on friendly terms. Kakashi and the rest nodded and left.

"Naruto, you know better than to call Hokage-sama like that!" teacher-mode Iruka in action.

"That's quite alright Iruka. I actually prefer it that way!" Hiruzen smiled "Now… what is it that you want to talk about?"

"To be frank, Tazuna-san is lying through his teeth. There is more going on than what meets the eye. I'm not sure what is going on but I don't like it!" Naruto growled a bit. He hated liars with a passion though he understood why a person lies.

"Hmm… it's troubling indeed. Should I call off the mission and investigate the matter further?" the old man continued.

"That would be the best course of action but it would be very troublesome for me as this is the first C-rank that we get so if it's canceled, Sasuke will Katon my behind and Hinata would most likely Juken spank me." the blond smiled non-convincingly. "I think that we could use another team as backup. If it turns out it was only a feeling then I will pay for their mission myself!"

"The only available team right now would be Kurenai's. Would they be fine?"

Naruto pondered the pros and cons a bit. Kurenai-sensei's Genjutsu would provide good backup for Kakashi's Ninjutsu but that would also mean that he would have to put up with horn-dog and fangirl. He just hoped that they learned their lessons by now.

"Yes, they'll be fine!" the blond admitted. "But please mention the fact that I and my teammates are the Gennins' commanding officers in this mission! I don't need an incident in this mission!"

Hiruzen nodded and so Naruto shunshined out of the office.

Later that day Naruto and Hinata finished storing their travel gear into a couple of scrolls that they secured in their armbands. Naruto for a reason beyond his control decided to pack enough food to last a year, or to feed the entire Konoha for three weeks. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was definitely wrong.

'Nii-san, what do you think of this?'

'**Not sure kit but if your gut tells you something, then you should make sure you are prepared for it.**'

'But don't you think this is overkill?'

'**A little, but those scrolls are easy to carry and keep things fresh for a long time so you can always bring them back if you don't need them. So better safe than sorry!**'

'True! Thanks nii-san!'

'**Good luck tomorrow kit!**'

After finishing the preparations they decided to see what Sasuke was doing so Naruto Hiraishined them to the Uchiha compound. They walked a little to the main house where they could see Mikoto playing with a three year old girl that looked like a female chibi version of Sasuke.

"Hello Mikoto-san!" both of them greeted.

They then entered the front gate only to be met by a cheery voice.

"Nawto-nii-chan! Hina-nee-chan!" the little girl ran towards them at full speed.

"Hi-chan!" Hinata cheered and picked her up as she got close.

"Hey there Hikari-chan! Where's your brother?" Naruto asked as he ruffled her hair as the toddler giggled.

Hikari is Sasuke and Itachi's little sister and a small bundle of energy. She is also Naruto's goddaughter as he got the honor of naming her because as Mikoto said, it was because of him that she had the chance to live.

"Hey guys!" Sasuke shouted from inside the house "I was just finishing packing my stuff! I have to admit that those scrolls are awesome! Just three of them and I could fit enough things for a month!"

"Keeps them fresh too!" Naruto answered.

"Boys I want you to be careful and listen to your sensei! Hinata I need you to make sure that they listen." Mikoto giggled.

"Haaai!" they answered back.

"Sasuke, we need to talk." Naruto switched to serious mode that the brunet instantly picked up on.

"Come in my room." The boy answered.

They did so.

"Okay, now I'll be frank. Tazuna was lying big time there." Naruto told them and they both nodded. "He was lying about the forces we will be facing and about his importance in the bigger picture! Because of that I requested another team to act as backup."

This surprised them both but then got curious as to who will be with them.

"Who?" Sasuke was the first to ask.

Naruto looked at them a bit before shrugging.

"Please don't kill me but it was …Kurenai-sensei's team! That includes her, Shino, Kiba and Sakura."

They looked at him like he grew another head.

"Sorry guys, it was the only team available!" he slumped even more but his teammates took on thinking poses. "I did specify the fact that the Gennin will be under our command to the Hokage!"

The last sentence brought a breath of relief from the blond's teammates.

"I suppose it will work out." Hinata smiled and Sasuke nodded.

"Thanks! You guys are the best!" Naruto smirked and rubbed the back of his head.

The next day they all left for the gate. First ones there were the Gennin of team seven as Naruto and Hinata after they picked up Sasuke Hiraishined to the seal nearest to the gate. The blond once again started playing his violin beginning with the song '_Sad Romance_' by '_Thao Ngyuen Xanh_'. His teammates just stood close and listened with their eyes closed. Even some villagers couldn't help be captured by the beautiful music and stopped in their tracks to listen.

The song was nearing its end when Kurenai and her team reported in. She knew that Naruto played music but it still took her by surprise. Sakura couldn't even breathe for fear of disturbing the performance. Even Shino's bugs relaxed more as they sensed the vibrations in the air.

Kiba and his partner were also taken aback by the song and loved it but as soon as he saw who was playing his hormones got the best of him and opened his big barker.

"So now you want to impress…" but never got to say much as he was punched into the ground by Sakura and Kurenai who whispered to him to be quiet.

Finally after ten more seconds the song ended and nearly everyone near applauded. Naruto was a little taken aback by this so he blushed.

"That was beautiful Naruto-kun!" Kurenai smiled.

"T-Thank you!" he answered shyly but then he also noticed Sakura applauding.

"Sakura, there's something I've been wanting to tell you!" Naruto approached the girl who took a small step back still a little scared of him.

"B-But Naruto, d-don't you have Hinata? I mean I love Sasuke kun!" She said with her arms raised in surrender.

Naruto blinked a few times before it registered.

"WHAT? No! That's not what I wanted to say!" he jumped "Look I wanted to apologize for that time in class! I shouldn't have come at you like that so, for all that it matters, I'm sorry!" Naruto said while bowing down deeply in front of her.

Now it was her turn to blink and take time to sink it all in. "I-It's alright Naruto! You were right that time and I have been very obnoxious in class! It took Kurenai-sensei three B-rank Genjutsu until she finally made me realize my mistakes so, I'm sorry too!" she blushed, giggling a bit at the genjutsu part.

"So, friends?" Naruto asked while stretching out his arm.

"Friends!" she took the blond's arm and wanted to shake it but he kissed it hers.

"Ww-What? H… no…!" she stuttered pointing a finger at a retreating Naruto while Hinata giggled.

"Don't worry! He does that to every girl or woman who he cares about. He read it in a book on manners he got from a traveling merchant. In it, this gesture is a greeting or an act of respect towards a woman's kindness or charms." Hinata smiled.

Sakura froze in place with a blush but then shook her head "Oh! Well thank you!" she smiled at Naruto who playfully nodded.

"Very polite of him." Shino commented in his usual monotonous voice and Kurenai nodded.

"_Showoff!_" Kiba whispered but soon found himself the target of his sensei and female teammate's glares.

Thankfully he was saved by Kakashi who appeared with Tazuna next to him.

"Hey everyone! What are you doing here Kurenai?" Kakashi asked.

"I requested for backup sensei and her team was the only one available." Naruto explained while shooting his sensei a glance not to ask why.

"Well the more the merrier!" shouted Tazuna who was happy that his guard got bigger.

"HA! Scared of what you might face outside and need us to rock you to sleep?" Kiba shouted.

Naruto however seemed as cool as ice "I don't need you, I needed another Jounin but since the only one available had to babysit you I felt a little pity so I decided that you could tag along. Oh and I'm sure that Hokage-sama informed you that in this mission you are to act as backup and are to listen to our orders. That means that in the hierarchy you are the lowest with the Jounin senseis the highest and us the second in command and that means that if I say jump you don't ask how high, you just do it, got it?" the boy replied.

Kiba growled and launched himself with a fist ready at Naruto. The blond had his back turned to the dog-boy but just as he got close Naruto side-stepped and tripped Kiba who summersaulted through the air landing on his back with his feet facing Naruto. He groaned and opened his eyes to get up but found the blond, in one hand holding two plums and in the other Meian who glowing with wind chakra once again and was pointed menacingly towards the junction of Kiba's legs and was smirking like a maniac.

"Got IT?" Naruto asked making his point, or should I say Meian's point dangerously close to the boy's 'plums'.

'So that's why he trembles when he sees me eating pickled plums. Good job Naruto!' Kurenai smirked.

"Yes!" Kiba's teeth chattered.

"Yes what?" Meian inched closer.

"YES SIR! (HAI!)" Kiba shouted and Meian vanished. Naruto then bent down to Kiba and stretched his arm.

Kiba squinted a little bit and frowned but still took the hand and the blond lifted him off the ground. "See! That wasn't so hard!" Naruto chirped and Kiba shrugged.

They got ready and took off towards Nami no Kuni.

*End chapter*

A/N Sorry guys! I said I would do Tazuna mission but I got tired of writing this chapter. Oh well, I think that the next chapter will be posted quicker since it will only be about it so expect the follow up soon.

Also I said that I would do Kakashi and Sakura bashing and there you have it for the scarecrow and for the bubblegum-head it was the previous chapter ^_^. That's all folks. Also, the battles have begun. Expect some serious ass-kicking from now on.

Now a little bit on character profile.

Haruko Hyuuga

Height: 168 cm tall

Birthday: Secret

Weight and Age: _She'd kill me if I told you!_

Blood type: Heck if I know.

Occupation: De-facto leader of the Hyuuga Clan

Hobby: Looking out for her children and long walks.

Abilities: Juken and Byakugan Master

Personality

Very kind and a little shy. At least that's how people outside her entourage see her. To the people who are close to her she is a confident and kind person who always goes out of her way to help others. She seems as delicate as a flower but if you even threaten one of her children (including Naruto) well … it was nice knowing you! She seems to have a bit of a sadistic side too as she always seems to use corporal means to keep her husband under control and never lets anyone who deserves to be punished off with a warning unless it was a misunderstanding.


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for.

Author notes: Got nothing to write except enjoy the show

Previously on NotS:

Kiba squinted a little bit and frowned but still took the hand and the blond lifted him off the ground. "See! That wasn't so hard!" Naruto chirped and Kiba shrugged.

They got ready and took off towards Nami no Kuni.

Main story.

The journey at first was relatively uneventful except for a few minor 'reminders' from Naruto in regards to Kiba's 'hormonal control'. The guy just didn't seem to take a hint. They weren't anything seriously life-threatening, actually they weren't even dangerous. Naruto would just throw a plum at his head and it would keep the horn-dog in line for half an hour or so but he would get his urge again until the two Jounin set the formations for the trip.

Squad seven was now playing front guard while Kakashi and Kurenai were protecting the rear. This left squad eight to form a triangle formation around Tazuna with Sakura on his right, Shino to his left and Kiba on his back. Normally, with Kiba's nose he should have been in front but the two Jounin noticed that he would be too close to Hinata and Naruto was running out of plums and patience. Besides Kurenai knew about Naruto's Shinsougan, being a friend of the Hyuugas, and so decided that he would be more than capable of spotting danger.

Kakashi decided not to read his porn seeing that he was too close to Kurenai much to his chagrin so he was exchanging small talk with the woman. Sakura was still drooling over Sasuke though she would occasionally spare a glance at her surroundings giving her sensei a moment of relaxation. After all, the woman spent quite a bit of time pounding the meaning of being a shinobi to the girl. Kiba was grumbling and growling at 'the injustice of it all' but was using his nose to scan the area. Shino was as silent as he was stoic (and boring).

Team seven on the other hand appeared to be silent and focused. At least that's what it seemed to the outside viewers.

Naruto had perfected the telepathy seal during the D-rank mission time and were now exchanging small talk between them without moving their lips. That is until all three of them noticed two small puddles on the ground.

'Guys, did it rain here anytime soon?' Naruto asked.

'No, and look where they are. They are directly under the sun. Even if it rained here in the last day, a puddle like that should have evaporated.' answered Sasuke.

'That means it could be a jutsu. Hold on, let me check, _Byakugan!_' continued Hinata. 'There are two males inside the puddles and judging by their chakra they are barely Chuunin.'

'Thanks Hinata-chan. Okay, listen up! Don't kill them if you don't have to!' Naruto ordered.

'Who put you in charge?' Sasuke teased, his pride not letting it any other way.

'Nobody, but I want to interrogate them to find out what they are doing here. I know you can do it Sasuke but I think that you should keep _that_ secret just a little while more, deal?'

'Sure! 'Sides I love to hear them when you make them cry!' Sasuke smirked.

Hinata giggled.

'Okay… hey I got an even better idea! Listen to this…' Naruto continued making Sasuke smirk deviously and Hinata to mentally giggle some more.

'Now remember Hinata-chan, no peeking and no Byakugan!' Naruto shot a playful glance at her who turned a little red.

'Oh, he's no fun!' she answered.

'You forgot to turn off the transmitter again.' Sasuke sighed making the girl get even redder.

'Three and a half more years Hinata-chan.' Naruto smiled kindly and put a hand around her waist giving her a light kiss on the cheek. They all heard a growl but ignored it.

As they approached the puddles Naruto began.

"Guys hold on! I need to pee." he continued jogging his way to the puddles and unzipping his pants.

"NARUTO! Not here, go into the bushes at least!" Sakura screamed.

"Naruto, I think you should listen to her…" Kakashi half-stretched an arm and got a sweat-drop but was silenced when the blond gave him a devious smirk.

"Oh! Sneaky." both Jounin answered when they saw that.

Sakura quickly turned around and growled. Hinata did as well, holding a hand over her mouth to keep her from laughing out loud with Kurenai following her example but noticing her protégée's behavior.

The blond then brought out his manhood and Kiba exploded (he was at least three inches longer and one inch wider than the dog user). "Oh yeah! That's a relief!" he said as he doused the two puddles firmly and quickly. He barely managed to pull up his pants when then the two shinobi (The Demon Brothers) jumped out and wrapped him in their chain.

"You. will. pay. for. that!" they growled in unison and pulled their chains. The next event happened slowly for everybody outside the blond's teammates. The chains seemed to rip through Naruto, as blood and pieces of flesh flew through the air, landing on Sakura.

"KYAAAAA!" the pink haired kunoichi screamed.

"One down!" the demon brothers said in unison and then charged towards Tazuna. "Next is…" they didn't get to finish their sentence since they were held back by a kunai and shuriken anchoring their chain to a tree. "Shit! It won't come off!".

They were pulling harder and harder until they saw a massive swarm of black bugs coming their way so they disconnected it and jumped Kiba and Sakura. The Jounin were ready to intervene when Hinata appeared near Gozu who had his sights on the Inuzuka and … Naruto teleported in front of Meizu who was targeting the girl and blocked his gauntlet strike with Meian who was now presenting a cloudy sky blue-white flowing mix pattern in the interior of the blade. Hinata incapacitated her opponent with a quick strike to one of his chakra points with ease. Naruto struck his opponent's temple with the back of his sword dealing with him but had to stop the enemy shinobi from falling gauntlet first onto Sakura who froze, getting scratched in the process. Sasuke then appeared and with a flick of a wrist he threw a shuriken with a wire attached around the Demon Brothers and a tree, bringing them together before they could hit the ground after which team seven landed in front of them.

"Naruto? How? I saw you cut to pieces!" Sakura screamed.

"Shadow Clone and Kawarimi. I switched my place with a shadow clone." he explained with a smile.

Kakashi eye-smiled at them "Good job team! But Naruto, their gloves were poisoned so we need to drain the blood out of the wound and treat you!" he explained

The boy answered "No need!"

"Wha?" Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow.

Kurenai moved to his side and whispered "_Naruto-kun is immune to poison thanks to a certain chakra 'condition'! I can't believe you don't know this! They are your team! Be careful though! High A-class secret!_"

"Oh!" he answered and team eight were looking at him intensely but got no response. "Now what do we do with these?"

"I say we leave them to the authorities!" answered Tazuna who was sweating a little.

"Not yet Tazuna-san!" Naruto turned to him "I had a feeling that you lied to the Hokage when you declared the mission details and this proved it!"

"I-I didn't do such a thing!" the man defended.

"Tazuna-san, Naruto-kun has the ability to tell if a person is lying so it won't work." Hinata warned him making Tazuna shiver in fear.

"Indeed! I saw that you lied when I asked you the details in the mission office but I couldn't ask why so I requested backup. Now why did you do it?" Naruto continued. "A low C-rank is meant to give Gennin experience and is supposed to be low danger. If people trained in shinobi arts appear then the mission ranking starts from high C and can go all the way to high A-rank possibly S. Depending on the info we get from these guys, we can determine the mission standard. Besides, when the client lies about the mission details it is essentially a breach of contract and as such our leaders have the right to call off the mission."

"I-I… I guess the cat's out of the bag now, huh?" Tazuna slumped. "You have to understand that the wave is a poor country so we couldn't afford a higher ranked mission. This C-rank is all we could scrounge up. Even the Daimio barely has enough to live by, so please believe me that I didn't know what else to do!" Tazuna nearly cried. "But go ahead and call off the mission. My daughter will probably end up raped or dead and my cute little grandson will probably cry and hate Konoha…"

"Cut the theatrics!" Sasuke sighed "Konohagakure can supply you with a proper team on an I.O.U policy if the client can't provide the pay on spot but is able to supply it at a later time for missions up to mid A-rank."

"And even if the level exceeds that you could request a loan from the Daimio since the bridge you are building would supply a new and profitable trade route between Hi and Nami. I know the man would never pass up the chance to fill his pockets." Naruto intervened. "Besides we don't know what we will face yet so hold your panties and let me work!" the blond continued making his way to the Demon Brothers.

"Heh! You think that we will talk? Think again!" Gozu smirked behind his mask.

Naruto flashed a grin that would make Ibiki and Anko proud "Really? That's too bad! I heard that Kiri (Mist) loves traitors and deserters with a passion. I'm sure that they would kill to get you two back. They constantly need victims, I mean prisoners to train their interrogation squads. Messy work if you ask me. Those beginners can really fuck things up and possibly make you brain dead or kill you veeerrry slowly and painfully! That is if you survive Konoha's T&I. Have you ever heard of Ibiki the Sadist and Anko Mitarashi? I know them and they wouldn't be too happy that you refused to talk to little old me. The second in command there has a twelve foot white cobra summon that loves me with a passion and, if you know summons, they understand what you tell them. Miki-chan, the snake, would be mighty pissed. Her venom hurts like a hive of bees when she bites you and will kill you by stopping your lungs from working." Naruto paused a little to take in their faces. They were close to shitting themselves. He didn't notice that his comrades were looking at him like he grew another head.

"Now, Hokage-sama could probably keep you away from them if you decide to become our 'friends' but as you know, friends don't keep secrets from one another!" Naruto blinked innocently (like Anko)

Two split seconds later "We were hired by Gato of the Gato Company to kill the old man since the bridge he is building would be a spine in his plan's behind to take over Nami! Besides us he has around a hundred or so thugs and as for shinobi, there are two former Mist Swordsmen, Zabuza Momochi the wielder of Kubikiribōchō and Raiga Kurosuki who has the Kiba swords. There is also this boy Haku who is Zabuza's apprentice Haku Yuki that has an Ice release kekkei genkai. He's hell'a strong, possibly high-Chuunin and a no-name Gennin team that we didn't bother learning the name of. That's all we know now please don't torture us!" the brothers spilled.

"Okay, since you didn't lie to me, I will keep my word! When the team from Konoha come here they will take you to jail. I will send a message in advance to the Hokage to take it easy on you guys now …" Naruto flashed three hand signs "Sleep!" he said touching their foreheads making them go unconscious with a seal forming on their foreheads.

Naruto then turned to the rest of the group. "Well that settles it! This mission has just bumped up to high A-rank!" he shrugged looking to Kakashi. "Well Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi sighed "Naruto was right about the previous statement. Right now we should cancel the mission and have Hokage-sama provide Tazuna with a standard team but, what do you guys think?" the scarecrow turned to his team.

"Hold on Kakashi! You're giving them the choice?" Kurenai snapped.

"Of course! I trust my team to take the right decision, don't you?" he answered making her blush and look away in embarrassment. "Well guys?"

They looked between themselves and at Tazuna who was looking a little more relaxed since he heard that he would be getting shinobi either way.

"We say that we keep going! That is if you and Kurenai-sensei think you can keep the two Mist swordsmen busy until we take care of Haku and the rest." Naruto answered and the other two nodded.

"Hey! Don't we get a saying?" Kiba shouted.

"Nope!" team seven along with the two Jounin answered but after a short pause they continued "Except Shino!"

"Thank you! Logic would dictate that we should retreat since we have two Jounin and six Gennin while the enemy has two Jounin, a Chuunin and three Gennin. But I do not desire my first high-rank mission to be canceled, that would look bad on my record. It is up to Kurenai-sensei to decide." Shino answered.

Kurenai took on a thinking pose for a second and then answered.

"Okay! I agree with keeping the mission for now but we will send notice to the Hokage to have a team ready if things get out of hand. Kakashi and I will take on the two swordsmen while team seven deals with the Chuunin and possibly the Gennin while you guys guard Tazuna!" she detailed.

"Hey! Why do we have to stay behind?" Sakura protested.

Her sensei sighed "Simple! Because besides Shino here none of you acted before when the two attacked." she answered making the duo look down in shame "Besides, team seven managed to take out Kakashi here during the Gennin exam and he was going at them full force! Do you think that you could have done the same to me back then?" she asked and the Gennin shook their heads from side to side. They realized later that Kurenai never fought back except a couple of low rank genjutsu.

"Now that it's settled, let's continue our mission!" Kakashi eye-smiled and summoned a dog to take the report to the Hokage together with Naruto's recommendation regarding the Demon Brothers.

(Cannon from here until after the boat landing except imagine Kakashi and Kurenai walking on water to make room in the boat and Sakura being quiet)

They kept the same formations while walking down the road with Hinata and Naruto scanning their surroundings with the Byakugan and the Shinsougan.

Having greater range than Hinata, Naruto saw two figures waiting at them in the trees a mile away. He notified his Gennin teammates and told Hinata to let the rest know since he didn't want to reveal his Shinsougan to the others yet.

"Kakashi-sensei, there are two figures hiding in the vegetation about a mile from here. Judging by their chakra one is a Jounin and the other one is Haku. Also the Jounin has what appears to be an oversized meat cleaver on his back. I would say that this is Zabuza." she calmly stated.

"Hmm… I didn't expect them so soon but only them…?" Kakashi quizzed.

"They must not be expecting us guarding Tazuna or the others may be coming soon." Kurenai continued.

"Logic would dictate that the first option is the likeliest. What should we do about it?" Shino added his two-cents.

Naruto got into a thinking pose before answering. "I propose that we split up. Team eight together with their sensei take Tazuna and one of my clones through a detour while we continue forward. I will make a Shadow Clone that will Henge into the client."

"Agreed! Tazuna-san, do you know an alternative path?" Kakashi responded. The man nodded and motioned for another path but…

"But they are alone! We can just take them out now while we have numbers!" Kiba protested and the rest sighed.

"Kiba remember that the primary mission is to protect Tazuna-san. We can't drag him into battle, he would only be in danger and can be a hindrance since he has no battle training." Kurenai explained.

"Heh! Don't worry! I'll protect him and beat the other shinobi!" Kiba boasted giving team seven each a tick mark.

"Gennin, you are not ready to face a Jounin that has every intention to kill you!" Kurenai growled.

"But…" the Inuzuka wanted to protest again but was silenced by Sasuke and Naruto each holding a kunai\Meian from a side of his neck.

"Jump!" Naruto ordered before blasting him with a pulse of KI.

Kiba didn't comment anymore and hopped to Kurenai's side and they took the detour. Naruto made the Shadow Henge Clone of Tazuna and they continued on the current path.

When they made it into position Kakashi and his team were keeping his senses sharp. A few steps later and…

"Get down!" Kakashi shouted as he and his team ducked for cover, Sasuke taking clone Tazuna down with him. Kubikiribōchō flew over their heads and impaled itself to the side of a nearby tree.

Zabuza then jumped on top of the sword hilt, his back turned to the traveling party.

"Well hello there, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, the Kirigakure (Mist Hidden village) missing-nin! If you are here that means I have to get serious." Kakashi began unveiling his Sharingan eye.

'So it's true! He does have the Sharingan!' Sasuke smiled.

"Sharingan no Kakashi! I'm honored that the man who copied a thousand jutsu wishes to fight me at his full strength, but all I want is to kill the old man!" clone Tazuna got worried "But it looks like I would have to fight you first!"

Zabuza dislodged his blade from the tree and then moved onto the water. "Now then will you attack me alone or will those brats assist you? EH!" he asked releasing his KI at the Gennin who were in formation around Tazuna.

They began to shiver as the top part of their eyes were shadowed. A moment later they … attacked each other.

Naruto launched a fist at Sasuke who was snapping a chop at Hinata who wanted to poke Naruto's eyes out. Their attacks countered each other so they switched between themselves the attacks failing each time.

Zabuza by now heard the attacks names and was sporting a huge … sweat-drop.

"Jan-Ken-Pon (Rock-Paper-Scissors)! Again! Again! Again…" they continued for about seven turns.

"Umm… what are you doing?" Zabuza interrupted.

"Isn't it obvious? We are deciding who will face you since all of us will be kind of unfair!" Naruto responded. He wanted to return to the match but their sensei interrupted them.

"Sorry guys, he's a little too dangerous for you right now so I'm countering you with 'sensei' and beating you all!" he eye-smiled.

"Heh! So you will face me alone Kakashi? I will give you a nice funeral!" Zabuza said before disappearing with his Kirigakure (Hidden Mist/ Hidden in the Mist) no Jutsu.

Naruto and Hinata activated their eyes and they easily pin-pointed the man's position in a tree near the water.

The missing-nin then began talking "There are eight points, larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular artery, collarbone, kidney's, heart. Now which one should I hit?" he continued adding KI.

Team seven just yawned together then Naruto responded "You forgot the sternum, solar plexus, back of the neck, groin, parts of the backbone, temple…" but before he could finish Zabuza appeared behind them.

"Thanks kid!" he smirked behind the bandages and swung his sword in a chopping motion but was stopped by Sasuke with a kunai who had little trouble intercepting the blow thanks to his weight training and his… three-tomoed Sharingan.

A split second later, Kakashi appeared and decapitated the man who turned into water.

"A water clone!" Kakashi commented but then noticed Sasuke's eyes. "How?" he asked.

"You mean the Sharingan? I awoke it a few weeks after the 'Uchiha Incident' with Naruto's help." Sasuke answered.

"You shouldn't look away Kakashi!" Zabuza whispered as he appeared behind the scarecrow and sliced him in half but Kakashi also dissolved into water. "He copied my Water Clone technique?" the Kiri nin whispered before Kakashi appeared behind him with a Kunai to his throat.

"It's over!" the Konoha Jounin growled.

"Sensei that's a fake too! Behind you!" Hinata shouted.

Kakashi frowned and sliced the Mizu Bunshin before ducking under a cleave only to be launched into the air by a kick from the missing-nin. Zabuza then went for a finisher only to stop at the caltrops that Kakashi threw onto the ground.

Kakashi landed in the water only to emerge a little distance away.

'What's with this water? It's heavy.' he thought before Zabuza appeared behind him going through a series of hand-signs.

"Baka. 'Water Prison no Jutsu' (Suiro no Jutsu)!" Zabuza said before encasing Kakashi in a sphere of water. "I got you into my inescapable prison." He then made another water clone and wanted to send it at the Gennin but Naruto stepped forward.

"Yo, No-brows! I would recommend releasing that jutsu about now!" the blond commanded.

"Really? And why should I do that? Do you think you can take me on? Get real gaki! You are just a bunch of brats playing shinobi! When I was younger than you I had already killed a lot of people!" Zabuza answered.

"Yeah, yeah! I read about it! Village of the Bloody Mist final exam and all, Demon of the Mist, Zabuza Momochi. Killed a whole academy class by himself even though he wasn't even a student!" Naruto brushed it to the side.

"Oh? So you heard?" Zabuza raised a … piece of forehead.

"Big deal! Killing a bunch of kids who couldn't defend themselves. What was the matter with you? Did you fall on your head when you were young and the doctors screwed it on wrong?" Naruto taunted.

Zabuza growled "Get him!" He ordered his clone who charged and got close to Naruto but then Sasuke used his speed and destroyed it from its blind spot.

"Ho? You are pretty good! But that clone had only a tenth of my power!"

"A tenth? Than that means that you are not even worth it all! You should see Kakashi-sensei when his porn is destroyed! He is like a monster! Speaking of Kakashi, like I said, I think that you should cancel that jutsu by now, or else!" Naruto continued.

Zabuza laughed and then turned to the blond "Or what?" he taunted.

"Or that!" the boy answered using his thumb to point over his shoulder towards Tazuna. Near the man was a shadow clone who was holding a panting, wet Kakashi.

"WHAT?" Zabuza screamed and then looked at his hand to see his prison was holding a log that had a dozen explosive tags stuck on it. "SHIIIT!" he shouted as he let go of the jutsu as it exploded. The Kiri-nin managed to escape from most of the blast but his right arm and side still suffered serious burns.

He was now panting while the other side Kakashi was tended to with medical Ninjutsu by Hinata and Naruto's clone. Sensing that he was at the end of his ropes, he rushed forward for a suicide type attack only to be stopped by a couple of senbon needles embedding themselves in the back of his neck. Zabuza fell to the ground like he was struck by lightning and skidded to a stop a few feet away from the Konoha party.

They all turned to see a boy a year or two older than the Gennin wearing an androgynous kimono and a mask with the Kiri emblem on.

'Haku!' they all thought. 'But why did he attack Zabuza?'

Haku then began "Thank you for your assistance! I was trailing him for a while now and was waiting for a chance to get him."

"That mask, you are a Kiri Hunter-nin!" Kakashi bluffed.

"Indeed. I will waste no more of your time. Let me just take his body to dispose of it elsewhere!"

Naruto jumped in "Hold on! Aren't Hunter-nin supposed to take care of the body on the spot? You only need the head to claim the kill."

Haku flinched "Yes, that is correct but unfortunately I lost my storage scrolls in a battle and now I must take his body with me."

"I have a couple of extra storage scrolls." Naruto continued.

"I couldn't take one. They are expensive." the Kiri boy continued.

"Don't worry! I make them myself. Here." the blond insisted and Haku had no choice than to take one.

"Thank you! Now let me just move him out of the way. This could get messy and I'm sure that you don't want your lunch spoiled."

"That wouldn't be a problem since I have medic-nin training." Naruto puffed his chest.

"Really?" Haku was starting to get worried.

"Really! And you know what else I leaned as a medic nin? I learned that there are certain points in a body that you can hit with objects such as senbon to cause a fake death, Haku Yuki-san! SASUKE!"

Sasuke quickly flashed through some hand signs (think Kakashi after the Shipuuden time skip) and did a Goukakyu at Zabuza. When he stopped they noticed that both Zabuza and Haku vanished.

'He's quick!' they all thought.

Kakashi then covered his Sharingan and collapsed on one knee panting hard and Naruto dismissed the Tazuna clone.

"Well it looks like he got away." Kakashi sighed and Naruto handed him a chakra pill for which he thanked the Gennin.

"Will you be okay sensei?" Hinata asked the man.

"Well I'm a little worse for ware and tired as hell but I got off easily. A good's night rest and a hot meal and I'll be back to full strength." he answered.

"Follow me. Kurenai-sensei reached the house by the time you got trapped so I know where to go." our blond hero suggested and they all nodded.

Later that day they reached Tazuna's house where they met up with team ten, Tazuna and his daughter Tsunami.

"Kakashi? Was he that strong?" Kurenai worried as she saw Kakashi's battered form.

"Yes! Not to mention that he got a lucky shot in, but this is mostly Sharingan backlash." the male Jounin answered.

"Lucky shot?" Sakura quizzed.

"Sensei got trapped inside a Water Prison Jutsu with his Sharingan open and constantly trying to break free. The enemy got away though." Naruto answered "But he should be okay with two days of R&R."

"Oh!" Kurenai and Sakura responded.

Kakashi sighed "You are right Naruto, but I can't take that time while they are still out there."

"Oh you will take the time or you will be demoted to Chuunin for insubordination!" Naruto ordered.

"Naruto, in case you are forgetting Kakashi and I are the Jounin leaders here while you are a Gennin." Kurenai explained.

"I did not forget Kurenai-sensei but you forgot that I am the only licensed medic-nin in this party and as medic-nin I can even order the Hokage into retirement if I consider that it will be good for his health!" Naruto answered and both Jounin slumped.

"Is that true?" Sakura asked.

Kurenai turned to her "Yes and not only is Naruto a medic-nin he is also a First-class one and second in command of the Konoha medical-corps." the woman admitted earning Naruto two glances filled with awe from Tazuna and Tsunami.

"Now that that's sorted out, after lunch you it's off to bed with you mister!" Naruto entered medic mode.

"Hai! But before I go, how did you get me out of that jutsu Naruto?"

"Well, after you got caught I secretly made a Kage Bunshin and had it 'move' (*cough* teleport*cough) stealthily to your position while me and Sasuke distracted Zabuza with Hinata protecting Tazuna-san. When I got there I used my 'special' (*cough*space-time*cough*) talents to pry open a portal through the jutsu and then used a simple Kawarimi no Jutsu with a log that I prepared earlier."

Naruto explained everything but then ordered the scarecrow to do as the doctor ordered. A slumped Kakashi answered weakly and Naruto unsealed a perfectly balanced meal from his scrolls. After Kakashi ate he was sent to bed.

"Well now that that's over I think you need to think of training your team Kurenai-sensei. Judging by Zabuza's wounds and Haku's knowledge of the body, they will be back to full force by the end of the week at the earliest." Naruto turned to the woman.

"Yes." She answered.

"Do they know the tree climbing exercise yet?" Sasuke decided to break his silence.

"No, I didn't have the time to teach them until now." she answered. "But I guess that I will show it to them tomorrow."

"Hey, what is this about tree-climbing exercises? We know how to climb trees!" Kiba protested.

"Really? I thought dogs don't climb trees." Naruto taunted and Kiba growled but kept himself seated. "Besides, you are supposed to climb it without your hands."

"Without our hands? How are we supposed to do that?" Sakura asked.

"With chakra, like this!" the blond continued and walked up the wall and onto the ceiling. "You cling to the surface by focusing a steady amount of chakra to your feet. This place is said to be the most difficult to channel the energy and so if you manage to do it you will get a good feel of your own capacity. Kurenai-sensei will show it to you tomorrow." the blond explained and unhooked from the ceiling landing gracefully on two feet.

"That was a nifty trick." Tazuna chuckled and Tsunami applauded.

Just then the doors slid open an Inari walked in.

"Ah, Inari come here!" Tazuna motioned to the boy "Come meet the heroes who will protect Nami from Gato!"

"Why do you try? Gato will kill you! That is how it is! The strong will always beat the weak! So go home if you want to live! There are no such things as heroes!" the boy screamed.

"Inari!" Tsunami admonished him but Naruto held a hand in front of her.

"Yup! You don't know how right you are!" he answered making everyone look at him like he was a mental institute escapee.

"Wha?" the kid was surprised.

"I mean the part where the strong will always beat the weak! And that's why we will beat Gato!" he said flexing an arm while holding his biceps with the other.

"You don't mean that you think you have a chance against Gato? You're crazy! That _thing_ is a demon!" Inari cried out.

Naruto stared at him with a dumbfound look for two seconds before bursting into laughter.

"Bwhahahaha! Boy you crack me up! Him? A demon? Trust me when I say this kid that you don't know anything about demons!" Naruto wiped a tear from his eye.

"Don't laugh at me! Do you know what demons are?" Inari snapped.

"Have you ever heard of the Bijuu kid?" Naruto got serious. "They are gigantic constructs of pure living energy, chakra as we call it as big as a mountain. Twelve and a half years ago, the Kyuubi no Yoko, the strongest one of them attacked the village and killed a lot of people kid. They were shinobi, trained people who in a quarter of the number that died, could have handed Gato's rear to him on a silver platter. And he didn't so much as suffer a scratch. If it weren't for our hero, Minato Namikaze who sacrificed himself, he could have destroyed everything. And this does not even scratch the surface of the full story!" the blond growled.

Inari then rebounded "So, what does that have to do with you! You lived in a nice village without having to worry about getting killed! You know nothing of pain…" Hinata gasped. That was one thing that Inari shouldn't have said. "…look at you!"

Naruto snapped and grabbed Inari by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the wall making Tsunami want to rush to his side but was stopped by Kurenai.

"You think that you had it tough brat? You are being bullied by a man with more money than you and you think that your whole life is over just because you don't see the silver lining of your cloud? Here's a newsflash for you, there are people who had it far worse than you. Sasuke here had his whole clan murdered except his mother by his brother and he was forced to watch everything for seventy-two freakin' hours within a powerful illusion!"

Naruto then let out a low growl gaining even more of the boy's attention.

"_I know nothing of pain?_" Naruto whispered but everybody heard him "Look at my face! Do you see those marks on my face? They are birthmarks! I had them since I was born, which coincidentally was the same day that the Kyuubi attacked! And because of these and some other reasons, the villagers thought that I was the demon reincarnate and were ruthless against me! Because of the Kyuubi attack I had lost my parents! That's right I never knew them! I never saw them smile at me, congratulate me or hug me when it hurts! Instead I can't remember anything older than the orphanage caretaker beating the shit out of me when I wasn't even three years old!" Tsunami then gasped "Tell me how hard your life is, I dare you! You have your mother and grandfather cooking for you and comforting you when you are crying! Have you ever survived a month with nothing than a dumpster to dine in when you were three? Have you ever been hunted by an angry mob on your birthday when you were four? Have you ever been tortured in such ways that it would make a horror novel seem like a child's color book? HAVE YOU? I have!"

Naruto let go of Inari and quickly stripped to his bare torso. His scars were faded because of Kurama's power but Naruto used a basic Ranpu jutsu based on the diagnostic jutsu to reveal them and it wasn't a pretty sight. Tazuna clenched his sake glass so hard that it shattered in his hand, Tsunami and Sakura moved their hands to their mouths to keep from screaming, Akamaru and Kiba were trembling from the sight, and although Shino kept his stoic appearance his clothes were vibrating from his bugs that reacted to his emotions. Team seven and Kurenai had seen it all before but that didn't mean they didn't grimace, especially the woman since she never saw it in such high detail.

"Here you are having people that love you and care for you and what are you doing? You hide behind sorrow and fear!"

Naruto got dressed again and looked at the stunned Inari with eyes that now reflected sadness and disappointment.

"I can feel that you lost somebody dear to you to Gato. I can tell that because I see the sorrow in your eyes." Inari's eyes were bulging. "But this is not the way to honor them! Can I safely guess that he was your hero? Yes, otherwise it would not have made you sunk so low. What will you do if they come for your Kaa-san or your Oji-san? Are you going to cower away and cry, saying that the strong always defeat the weak? Are you going to let them get hurt? If you still think that only the strong survive then get stronger and stronger and guard your precious ones and your dreams kid! You got a good pair of sturdy arms, be a man and use them!" Naruto spoke as he walked through the door.

"Naruto, where are you going?" Kakashi asked.

"To blow some steam and to train to prove that heroes do exist! And that's a promise! Hinata-chan and Sasuke will know how to get to me if there is trouble." he said with a thumbs up while slowly walking outside.

The house was silent for a few seconds before Inari broke it.

"Did he really go through all that?"

"Oh come on, nobody could survive through what he said he's been through, right?" Sakura answered shakily while Kiba nodded in approval.

"Actually Sakura, that was the watered down and sugar coated version." Kakashi explained. "Before I became a Jounin sensei I was part of the ANBU, the elite special agents of the village. Because of the reasons that Naruto mentioned, the Hokage formed a special task group solely to monitor and protect him from the villagers who refused to see that he was not the Kyuubi. I did the best that I could to keep him from danger but some of my colleagues were part of the group that hated him behind the Hokage's back and they sabotaged his protection. He suffered everything you can imagine and much more, from starvation to broken bones, assassination attempts, muggings and stabbings. I even heard from the Hokage that he was nearly burned at the stake but the ropes burned and he could escape. He still has the scar, it was the one on the side of his abdomen." he explained.

Tsunami began to cry and Inari was a few short seconds away from following her example.

The scarecrow continued "But then he was taken into Hinata's clan and didn't have to fear from that again." he eye-smiled at Hinata who responded in a similar fashion after she finished healing Tazuna's hand from the broken glass.

The white-eyed girl then turned to Inari "Listen Inari-kun, Naruto-kun didn't say those things to hurt you! Those are the things that he kept repeating to himself over and over for many years. I heard him since our rooms are close. He used to cry himself to sleep until one day I guess he just got tired of it and decided to change all that into the will to protect his beloved ones. And I swore I would follow his example. Got it?" she smiled while placing a hand on the boy's head.

Inari looked to her in surprise but then an image of Kaiza appeared in his mind besides Naruto's '_If something is truly important to you… even it's heart-breaking, even if it's sorrowful… you keep on trying and trying, even if you lose your life, you keep on protecting it with these two arms! …Then, even if you die, you leave behind the proof that you are a man… forever…'_/ '_What will you do if they come for your Kaa-san or your Oji-san? Are you going to cower away and cry, saying that the strong always defeat the weak? Are you going to let them get hurt? If you still think that only the strong survive then get stronger and stronger and guard your precious ones and your dreams kid! You got a good pair of sturdy arms, be a man and use them!_' and understanding the meaning behind those words he nodded furiously.

(A/N: _I wanted to write this scene ever since I started the fanfic! I hope it turned out well!_)

(Here would be cannon scene with Haku except that instead of sleeping, Naruto was resting and that he knew who he was but decided to play along and Naruto didn't hesitate to say that he has people who he cares about and that he is training for them.)

"Well I have to go now, take care!" Haku smiled.

"Bye Haku, give my regards to Zabuza-san!" Naruto chirped and Haku turned around frightened.

"You knew? Then why didn't you attack me?" the Kiri boy cautiously asked, senbon at the ready.

"You may have Ice ability but your heart is far from frozen. I saw the kindness in your eyes. I decided to spare you today since I began to see you as my friend." Naruto smiled kindly.

"I see! I hope we don't see each other on the battlefield then." Haku saddened.

"I do!" Naruto answered with determination "Because I know that you will be there and I will save you from your darkness!"

"What if I don't want to be saved?" Haku puzzled.

"Why wouldn't you?" Naruto answered.

Haku then began to explain about his powers, how he killed his father because of it and how he is hunted by his country.

Naruto then intervened "So? Do you think that you are a monster just because others tell you so? If that is true then will you believe ME if I told you that you are quite the opposite? Let those bastards think what they want! Just remember, you are yourself and nobody else!" the blond kept smiling at Haku's dumbstruck look.

The Kiri boy then smiled and bowed before leaving.

Naruto took a few moments to stretch and then Hiraishined close to the house. He walked back in to find that Tazuna was ready to head out into town with Hinata. Naruto decided to tag along but not before giving his team and sensei the brief about the encounter.

"And you let him go? Just like that?" Sasuke questioned.

"Sorry Sasuke, I just couldn't bring myself to hurt him. He is just like us, fighting to protect someone whom he cares about. He doesn't know he has other options, just like Itachi-nii-san." Naruto admitted looking to the floor feeling sad for the boy and Sasuke and his sensei cringed at the mention of the Uchiha's name. Kakashi had been informed of 'Operation Gardner' and the 'Uchiha Incident' background by the Hokage at the request of Naruto and was not surprised by this comparison.

"Well, it's no use crying over it. I just hope that you did the right thing Naruto." Kakashi shrugged it off.

When they went to town Naruto could see the decrepit state that the country was in. Tazuna explained that because of Gato's actions to subjugate the country, unemployment rate was nearly 100 percent and crimes were at their peak.

There were beggars at every corner and the disturbing part was that most of them were children. At one point, Hinata and Tazuna went inside a store to pick up some materials while he waited outside. During this time he felt an unfamiliar presence approach him so he activated his Shinsougan and saw a hand going for his pockets but he caught it with practice ease. He saw a man who looked like he had seen better days trying to rob him.

"You are either very stupid, very brave, or both to try to steal from a shinobi!" Naruto growled.

"P-please let me go! I-I didn't know anything it's just that I'm so hungry!" the man whimpered and Naruto saw the truth in his eyes and sighed. He let go of the man but not before unsealing some ration bars from a scroll and explaining to the man.

"These things taste like sawdust but they are very good for the body and keep you full for a day. It's not much but it will keep you alive. I will give everyone more after my friends and I deal with Gato and his cronies."

The man looked like he saw Kami "Thank you! Thank you!" he said before ripping a pack and biting out of a bar and chewing on it like it was a fine cuisine.

Naruto looked at the man before cringing 'Gato! You better pray that we never meet face to face or I'll show you how a real demon feels like from up close! Right before I grind you to pieces, slowly!'

Hinata and Tazuna exited the store and went off to the shopping district to buy food for the evening. On his way Naruto felt another, softer presence behind him so, when he was touched he turned around and noticed a small four to five year old child holding his hands out and a couple more kids hiding in the back.

"Give? Please!" the little girl smiled and Naruto returned the favor unsealing the rest of the ration bars and a large bag of candy.

"You in the back, you can come over. I won't hurt you!" he smiled and another five kids appeared.

"Listen guys these things are called ration bars. They are very good for you and they keep you full for the day but they taste like mud so use this candy to wash away the taste afterwards, okay?" the blond smiled and started sharing the food around.

"You are very kind." Tazuna praised the blond.

Naruto blushed and looked away "Not really. I just wanted to get rid of those things. They taste like sawdust and I'm not really into candy either." said the blond.

Tazuna just smiled and motioned for them to keep moving. They then got home and Tsunami made them the food which Naruto complimented her highly, even going so far as to compare it to Ichiraku. Inari came down eventually.

"Oh Inari, come sit down and eat!" Naruto chirped as if nothing had happened.

Inari saw the blond and looked to the floor in shame.

"Ano, I wanted to say that… I'm sorry for saying that you don't know pain!" the little boy fidgeted.

"Apology accepted now stop feeling sorry for yourself and come and eat! Your mom's cooking is godly!" Naruto answered without hesitation and Inari nodded.

Sakura then got into the conversation "Ano, Naruto? Aren't you sorry for what you said to Inari?"

"Nope!" Naruto answered taking another bite of the food and making the boy cringe. "Why should I be? I told the truth! If he wants me to say sorry then he has to prove that he can change! I meant every single word when I said that crying and wallowing gets you as much as a cold fart. If you can do something then you better damn well do it! I would! Even if my hands are taken away from me I will kick my way to the top! Even if my legs are destroyed I will bite my way through. Even if I died I would kick the Shinigami's ass and come back here to try again! Because that is my nindo, my ninja way!" he said adjusting his headband and making Hinata blush, Sasuke to smirk and Inari to stop moping and look at him in awe.

The next day team eight began the tree climbing exercise with Sakura doing a little better than her cannon counterpart since Kurenai actually bothered to train ALL her students when she could. Kiba was doing decent for his ability. Shino on the other hand was struggling a little since his bugs were constantly eating away at his chakra and were destabilizing it.

Team seven minus Naruto took turns between patrolling the area and training by meditating on water getting jealous stares from Kiba.

Naruto had chosen to follow Tazuna to the bridge to guard the man. (Cannon here- Gichi scene)

"If this keeps up I will have no more men to finish building the super bridge!" Tazuna sighed.

Naruto, who was sitting on a large crane overlooking the area turned to the man.

"How many workers do you need Tazuna-san? I can provide you with about two-thousand that can walk on all surfaces except air and are very strong but have little experience." Naruto flashed his foxy smile.

"Really?" Tazuna's eyes bulged. "How fast can you get me three hundred of them?" he asked.

Naruto just smirked and three hundred and twenty clones appeared on the bridge and surrounding area. "Does this answer your question? I made a couple more since you can give commands through one and when it vanishes everyone gets the information and you can order one when to do it!"

"Ah-ey-uoh! WOW!" the man mumbled.

The bridge was now being built at a record pace since Naruto by now had upped the bands at around 500 pounds equivalent for each limb and each clone could carry the same weight so you could see small blond twelve year-olds carrying five bags of cement in each arm with ease everywhere. The older construction members got to rest while giving out directions and orders to the clones, occasionally stepping in where experience was needed.

By now Kakashi had recovered fully and was doing a little bit of light training himself.

This was repeated throughout the days until the end of the week.

The following morning Naruto woke up to the sound of a door crashing open. Groaning he went down the stairs to find two thugs dragging Tsunami while Inari was fighting against them.

(Tsunami & Inari POV is cannon except Naruto's intervention.)

Naruto got seriously pissed and teleported between the two backhanding each of them and sending them flying before even touching the ground. He praised Inari (cannon) and then turned to the thugs who were just getting up nursing their sore cheeks. Naruto then took a rock and planted the Hiraishin on it before throwing it high above the ocean. He then teleported to the thugs and grabbed them before Hiraishining to the rock and smirking.

"Happy landing!" he chuckled before chucking them towards the water and teleporting back to Inari's side.

"Where are the rest?" he asked.

"They are at the bridge. Jii-san said that you were tired from working on the bridge and so they decided to let you sleep.

"Understood, I'm going there now. They might need my help. Inari, I'm proud of you! Protect your mom while I'm gone!" he smiled before contacting his teammates.

'Guys, do you copy?' he thought activating the telepathy seal.

'Yes!' they both answered.

'How's the situation over there?'

'Kakashi-sensei is fighting Zabuza while Kurenai-sensei is going against Raiga but seems to have a difficult time against him. We are battling Haku but he is tough. Team eight finished off the Gennin fast who ran away and are now guarding Tazuna-san.' Sasuke answered.

'Okay, be right there. Hinata I'm Hiraishining to your side!'

'Got it!' they both answered and Naruto mentally yelled 'Hiraishin no Jutsu' and flashed to the girl's side just in time to block a flurry of senbon with a Kaiten but true to his chakra it exploded sending a shockwave that cleared the air of some of the mist.

He then noticed that he was in a dome of ice slabs (Haku's ice mirrors) in which many Haku appeared.

"Hello Haku!" Naruto smirked.

"Greetings Naruto-kun! I had hoped that you would not have come today but I'm afraid that we must now battle." Haku answered preparing some senbon.

Naruto activated his Shinsougan and Soujin Seishin and blocked most of the needles although some of them got in.

"Naruto, careful, he's fast!" Sasuke looked at the blond with his Sharingan active. On his right was a panting Hinata.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto deactivated his bands and shunshined to her side.

'Fast!' thought Haku.

"You okay?" Naruto supported the girl who nodded.

"Yes, I'm just a little tired from using Kaiten a lot." she answered and Naruto gave her a chakra pill.

"Why Haku? Why do you follow him? I know that he saved you but this is not you! He is trying to change you into something else!" Naruto shouted.

"Change me? No, I can't change. Only a person can change Naruto-kun. I am but a tool. An item for Zabuza-sama's use." Haku smiled behind her mask.

"QUIET!" Naruto roared making the Ice user take a step back inside the mirrors. "Does your heart beat? Do you have dreams? Even if your dream is to help Zabuza fulfill his, it is still your dream! That means you are a person and not a tool! A tool does not care for his master! It does not have any of those! Stop calling yourself that or I'll kick your ass!" Naruto responded.

"That is your view Naruto-kun. I will say it again; I am a tool to be used! An obje…" Haku began again but Naruto teleported in front of the mirror the real one was in and shattered it with a chakra enhanced punch.

Haku was surprised by this change of events but quickly recovered and, flying out of a shard he came forward towards Naruto, kunai at the ready but Naruto lazily caught it and punched him in the face, shattering the mask and sending the Kiri boy sliding on the ground and vanishing, head first into an ice mirror. After making sure that everything was still attached, Haku shot a surprised glance to Naruto.

"Told you I'd kick your ass!" Naruto smirked.

"That was surprising Naruto-kun, but it will not work on me again. As long as my ice dome stands, you will not win!" Haku frowned before regenerating the broken mirror.

"That can be arranged! Sasuke?"

"My normal Katon can't melt his ice Naruto." Sasuke admitted but then smirked at the blond who responded in kind.

"But who says it should be normal? Hinata-chan can you give us a couple of seconds?" Naruto replied.

"Hai!" the girl responded and moved in front of the two.

"I don't know what you are planning but it will not work!" Haku jumped out of the mirror aiming his senbon at the boys but was blasted back by a Hakke Kūshō (ET Vacuum Palm) from Hinata.

In the meantime Naruto charged a lot of pure wind chakra in his lungs and Sasuke flashed through hand-signs and breathed in a lot of air before blowing it out mentally shouting 'Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Dragon Flame Bullet), a dragon made of fire twice as thick as the brunet appeared just before Hinata jumped out of the way. In that moment Naruto blew a concentrated pipe like stream of wind-chakra that surrounded the fire jutsu, compressing and fueling it and making the flames pure white because of the heat.

"Fire-Wind Combination: Dragon Flame Vortex!" the boys shouted as the dragon circled the interior of the dome in a screw like motion going higher and higher. The ice never had the chance as the fire-wind jutsu melted it like a white-hot knife through butter.

Haku barely had time to jump out of the jutsu before the 'dragon' passed through it and was now panting hard. The dome was very chakra consuming and to lose it all at once like this was a massive blow to his reserves. When he looked up he saw that the three Gennin had surrounded him. He had no more energy to fight back and so he did the only thing he could.

"Kill me!" he begged.

"No." they answered.

"Please do it! I am a broken tool, and a broken tool has no use to Zabuza-sama so you have to dispose of me!"

The three sighed and Naruto answered.

"You are right! A broken tool must be disposed of!" before bringing his fist back for a punch that glowed with chakra. Haku's eyes widened before adorning a soft expression as the fist charged towards his face but when it made contact it barely had enough force to send his head to the side.

"Why? Why didn't you do it?" he cried before another fist made contact with the other side of his face.

Naruto grabbed his collar and hoisted him to his level "Why? Because I told you I would kick your ass if you kept saying that you are a tool! Wake up dammit! You are no more a tool than I am Santa Claus!" Naruto growled.

"Who's that?" everybody including Haku asked.

"Long story, but the main point is that I'm not him and you are not a tool! I know the pain you are going through! The pain of suffering because of something that you had no control of! But that is no reason to give up on your humanity! Live dammit! Live and fight against it! That is what means to be human and that is what you did until now! And I'll be damned if I'll let you stop now, got it?"

Haku's eyes widened when he realized that the blond was right and his expression softened when he wanted to thank the blond but just then the fog cleared and you could see Kurenai was protecting Kiba while fighting against Raiga, both Jounin panting in the distance, but closer to home Kakashi was charging his Raikiri in front of Zabuza who was held by his dog summons.

"ZABUZA-SAMA!" Haku screamed before doing a couple of hand-signs and shunshining in between them as Kakashi charged forward.

When he heard Haku scream Naruto reactivated the Shinsougan and Soujin Seishin and watched in slow motion as Kakashi was inching his way closer to Haku's heart.

'Oh, no you don't!" Naruto said before Hiraishining to Kakashi's side and shoving him out of the way but the Raiton jutsu managed to cut through Haku's right shoulder.

"Ahhhh!" the Kiri boy screamed as he felt the current through his right side and collapsed to the ground on his knees.

Kakashi and Naruto skidded to a halt. "Thanks!" the Jounin muttered to Naruto who nodded.

"Haku! Why did you do that? You should have killed Kakashi with that move not to try and take that hit! As I though, you are useless." Zabuza growled.

Haku simply smiled even though he was in pain and muttered "Sorry Zabuza-sama!" before falling to the ground.

The next moment Zabuza's nose was acquainted with Naruto's left knee that sent the Jounin skidding to the side. The blond quickly gave Haku a blood pill and, making two clones he took to mending his wound.

"Why didn't you kill me with that attack kid?" Zabuza growled.

"Because you are too important to Haku to kill!" Naruto answered.

"Why do you care so much about a broken tool gaki?"

"Liar."

"What?"

Naruto then shot a cold glare to the Kiri Jounin that sent chills down his spine. "I said that you are a liar! Even you don't believe that Haku is a tool. It easy to tell that you care for him a lot and that you hide behind those words to keep yourself from mourning if he ever got killed. Well let me tell you something No-Brows, you can't ever escape from that! Now shape-up, be a man and admit that you care for him or I'm going to pound you into the next millennia!"

Kakashi stared at his student before shifting to Zabuza who looked like he was about to … cry. The speech obviously hit the mark and now the Kiri-nin was contemplating his mistakes. He then heard somebody shouting his name and saw Hinata and Sasuke jogging towards him.

"Hinata-chan, I need your help with Haku!" Naruto called out and she made her way there but on the way, a lightning bolt barely missed her. The blond having stabilized Haku looked towards the source of the lightning and saw Kurenai and Raiga's battle approaching it's end as well. "I'm going to assist her, after you dealt with things here you should join me!" Naruto told his two partner Gennin and clones, who nodded back.

Naruto then teleported to Kurenai's side just in time to move her out of the way of a lightning strike.

"Naruto?" asked a panting and bruised Kiba.

The boy didn't bother to answer "Kakashi has finished with his battle but is in no fighting shape. What's the situation?"

"I can't seem to trap him in any one of my illusions, and he is awfully protective of the bag on his back." Kurenai answered and Naruto activated the Shinsougan but found the bag empty so he began scanning using different wavelengths.

Raiga then surprised them with a quick lightning bolt shooting it towards the woman but to her surprise, it arched around her and was heading for the Inuzuka. He didn't have enough time to dodge so he closed his eyes and braced for the hurt. He waited and waited but it didn't come until a scream made him open his eyes.

In front of him was Naruto's smoking back. His coat was now shinobi black with white glowing kanjis for 'shield' all over the material. The blond had his arms stretched to protect the dog-boy from any serious damage. The kanji faded out of view and Naruto fell to one knee, panting lightly.

"Damn *cough*, I didn't activate my barrier Fūin fast enough and some of it got through, You okay Kiba?" Naruto asked.

"Why? Why did you take that shot for me?" Kiba shouted and Akamaru barked.

"You may be a horn-dog who constantly wags his tail after my girlfriend, and we may not get along that well… but I still see you as my friend and a Konoha comrade. And I never abandon my friends!" Naruto smirked at him before getting up and facing Raiga, leaving the Inuzuka to stare at him in shock.

Raiga grinned as he looked at the new addition to the battlefield.

"What's this? Another brat as backup? Do you think that you can stop me kid?" he chuckled as his Kiba swords were crackling with lightning.

Naruto decided he should play safe and brought out Meian who started to glow with wind-chakra.

"Nice trick with the sword but can you match it with technique?" Raiga taunted before charging the blond, swords connecting and sparks flew as the wind-chakra canceled the lightning chakra and metal hit metal.

Raiga had a very offensive style that was countered each time by Naruto's highly defensive maneuvers.

"Interesting moves kid!" the Jounin was impressed.

"Thanks! I call it the Seikuuken (Control of the Air Sphere – another thing based on HSD Kenichi)!" Naruto smirked as he continued defending while using his eye technique to peek inside the backpack.

He didn't have to wait long as, when he got to infra-red, he saw what looked like a small child. The strangest thing was that, even though the bag didn't appear to have holes for looking through them, the child's eyes were the hottest portions of his body where normally it should not have been this active even during broad day. Another thing that caught Naruto's attention was the overall body condition and that the child appeared to be very… frail.

"What the fuck do you think that you are doing moron?" Naruto shouted catching Raiga off guard with his question enough time for Naruto to slam the side of his blade into his temple and send him skidding on the ground "Why did you bring a sick child into battle? Are you really that heartless?" the boy growled.

"Wha? I-I don't know what you're…" Raiga started sweating. 'How does he know about Ranmaru?' he thought.

"Don't try to lie and cover! You have a small boy in that backpack! What are you thinking jackass? Do you know that he can suffocate in there?" medic-mode Naruto was back. "Besides, he should see a doctor not battle! Now stop this shit and let the kid go!"

Raiga stopped his attack and turned his head slightly towards the child-backpack. He whispered a few words before turning back to Naruto who was waiting defensively.

"How do you know about Ranmaru gaki?" Raiga lowered his sword

"I can see him through your bag. Consider it a talent of mine." Naruto relaxed as well. "And I can also see that he needs medical treatment. I'm a medic-nin and I can see that his condition isn't too severe but until I can consult him I won't know if it's curable!"

"How do we know that you aren't just trying to separate us so you can kill me!" the man defended while looking at the blond and the Jounin sensei who was still huffing a little.

"Two reasons. One, I hate lying unless I have to! And two, I spared your partners Zabuza and Haku, why shouldn't I spare you?" Naruto smirked.

Raiga responded in a similar manner "You make it sound as if you could kill me anytime you wanted gaki!"

The next moment Naruto disappeared from his position.

"WHAT?" Raiga answered.

A soft voice was heard from his backpack. "Behind you, on your left."

The swordsman turned his head to that direction to see Naruto holding Meian close to his neck.

"Took you two, seven seconds to notice me. That's six and a half more than I needed to kill you! Now, how about we settle down and talk while I examine the boy. We already defeated Zabuza, secured him and provided aid for the other team who should be here any second now. Just to let you know, my teammates are just as strong as me if not stronger and I'm sure you heard about Hatake Kakashi not to mention the Jounin that you already fought. So do we have a deal?" Naruto questioned bringing Meian closer to his skin and drawing a little blood.

Raiga pondered a minute before dropping his swords. "Alright kid, you win! I give!" he said lifting his arms.

Naruto smiled and lowered Meian. "Good! Now let me see Ranmaru-kun."

The backpack rustled and whispered "Raiga-san, no. I don't want to be away from you!"

Raiga sighed as he gently dropped the boy on the ground and brought him out of the 'hiding place'. "It can't be helped kid. He defeated us fair and square."

Naruto smiled as he saw the boy for the first time, Meian fading from his hand. The blond gently dropped down to his height and put a hand on the kid's head. "Don't worry Ranmaru-kun, nobody will take you away from him if you don't want to! Not for now at least. Kurenai-sensei!"

"You called Naruto?" the woman made her way there.

"Yes! Please watch over Raiga-san. Sorry Ranmaru-kun but I can't trust a wanted man that much yet." he answered then turning to the purple haired kid.

"It's … okay. I understand." Ranmaru sadly admitted but he was satisfied with not being separated from the man for now.

"Good kid! Now stay still while I examine you." Naruto ordered gently before a Kage Bunshin appeared next to him and got to work. After two minutes the clone dispelled and Naruto got all its information.

"Well I got some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?" he turned to Ranmaru and Raiga.

The two looked at each other before Raiga answered. "The good one first."

"Ranmaru-kun's condition is fully treatable. With enough exercise he could become a full-fledged shinobi if he wanted to." he answered with a smile.

Ranmaru looked excited at the prospect of living a normal life and Raiga was happy for the boy but then remembered something. "And the bad news?"

Naruto grinned playfully "The bad news is that the recovery process is so boringly slow and the medicine is super bitter." he admitted and the people around him face-planted.

Before they could clobber him for making them worry, Tazuna and the rest of the Konoha-nin arrived with Zabuza and Haku in tow all tied up and having a chakra suppression seals on them.

"So Naruto-kun got you too?" Haku asked and Raiga nodded looking embarrassed.

"Well, all's well that ends well! 'Arf!'" Kiba commented and Akamaru complimented but they both sensed a foul smell in the air.

"Oh and what do we have here? Looks like you missing-nin failed me! No matter, I wasn't going to pay you anyway!" the midget Gato appeared with about two hundred goons around him.

"I was really going to kill you after the Konoha shinobi softened you up but it seems that I will have to take care of everything. Kill them all!" the billionaire ordered.

"All of them boss? What about the girls and the woman?" one of them asked.

"Ah you're right! How foolish of me! Kunoichi slaves are very valuable after all and we can take our time to break them. I will personally take care of that white-eyed one after which you can have a go at her!" Gato sneered. Bad move!

"Oh yeah! She's cute! How lucky our boss is a pedophile!" the goons sneered in unison. Double bad move!

"We can have her every night after…" they didn't get to finish their sentence as a pure black horizontal line appeared near their neck area. ( Imagine that you are looking at a picture of the goons and you take a pencil and trace a line over their necks in one quick motion)

A few moments later the black line faded and their heads were separated from their bodies, some tall ones were cut in half and blood sprayed everywhere. The trees in the visible area fell over cut in half where the line was. Even the clouds in the distance appeared cut. The only one remaining was Gato who was saved by his short stature.

On the shinobi side everyone was watching the scene with horrified expressions and bulging eyes. Ranmaru was spared the sight by a Naru-clone.

The blond on the other hand was in front of the group holding Meian with his demonic features a lot more pronounced like sharp claws and red slit eyes. The sword's blade was a pure radiating black that generated a shadowy ghastly aura. The blond had a stance like he had just cut something in half horizontally. He stood like that for a couple of seconds while the others watched him in awe and horror before collapsing on his hands and knees panting like crazy.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata snapped out of her daze and ran to him, kneeling at his head.

"What was that?" Sasuke pondered out loud.

Naruto took a few more breaths before answering "'Tentoukirite' (Heaven Cutter).*huff* It's Meian's final and strongest *huff* ability. It takes as much *huff* chakra as three Kage can *huff* provide."

Naruto then paused for a couple more seconds to stabilize his breathing before continuing. "It is an unstoppable strike that will cut everything in sight like a picture with its tip, no matter the distance to the target or how powerful its resistance is. The cut stays in place for a couple more seconds after it was produced and anything that comes in contact with it gets cut as well."

Naruto, receiving a chakra recharge from Kurama got up and viewed his surroundings. He noticed his handiwork, feeling a knot slowly rising in his stomach and heading for his mouth.

Tazuna turned away from the sight.

Haku, Kiba, the Konoha Jounin and Raiga were looking at the same scene with even more dread and all of them were thinking 'Daaaamn!', the Gennin continuing with 'I'm glad he sees me as his friend! He really went easy on me all this time and all I've done is go after his woman. Guess mom and sis were right when they said that I should start growing up huh?'.

Sasuke and Hinata were a little amazed but by now they expected something like this from the blond so they were more affected by the gory scene.

Zabuza whistled "Wow kid! Wait a minute! Why didn't you use it against me when we first met?"

Naruto was fighting to control his stomach but answered "Because like I said it takes a lot out of me and I knew that Haku was close to the scene so I couldn't leave myself chakra drained." he said before taking another look at the bandits and confessing "Now if you will excuse me…".

Naruto put his hands on his mouth and jumped into some bushes.

"Bleahhhhh…" was the sound that came from his direction.

"What's wrong with him?" Sakura asked.

"First kill. It does that to you." Kakashi answered and the Gennin nodded in understanding.

Naruto then groggily walked out of the vegetation and wobbled to their position but Hinata and Sasuke moved to support him while he caught his breath again.

"Hiiii!"

They snapped out of their admiration when they looked towards the source of the squeal. Inside the bloody mess Gato rose to a sitting position having fainted earlier when the blood started gushing.

"A-a-ahhh!" he continued to shout, frightened by the scene.

Teams seven and eight together with Kakashi made their way to his side surrounding him.

"P-Please don't hurt me! I'll give you money!" he begged.

"No deal." Naruto answered.

"Please! Women, power, land! Anything!" he got into a seiza in the blood and begged again trembling like an earthquake.

"Like Naruto said, no deal." Sasuke continued.

"Please! Just don't kill me!" he grabbed Naruto's legs and cried.

"Oh we won't do anything to you!" Naruto smirked.

Gato blinked in surprise "So you will let me go?"

"I said we won't do anything to you but I don't know about them!" Naruto grinned while pointing to the billionaire to look behind him.

The midget quickly turned his head to see a mob of villagers overlooking their positions with Inari and Gichi leading them.

"Hey Inari could you turn around for a little bit?" Naruto smiled.

The boy, who was shocked about the scene of the massacre did as he was told. Naruto grabbed Gato by the back of his coat and lifted him off the ground before jumping towards the crowd.

"Sasuke, if you would…" Naruto requested and the Uchiha nodded before flashing through hand-signs and blowing out a Goukakyu over the corpses, burning them to ash in seconds. "Okay Inari, you can turn around again."

The boy turned around and was amazed by the sight of a huge burned area, with some of the bushes still on fire but nearly no trace of battle. He shook his head to get him out of the trance before smiling back to Naruto.

"Hey Naruto-nii-chan! I got the villagers to help you guys out but it seems we were too late."

"No problem. It's good to see everyone grow a backbone and they have you to thank." Naruto answered ruffling up the boy's hair. "Oh yeah! I got a present for you guys!" he smirked before chucking Gato in the middle of the mob like an old shoe. What happened to him in the following days was something that became a horror legend.

After the bridge was completed Naruto unsealed most of the food he had inside his scrolls and distributed it to the people, especially the kids who now saw their 'oni-chan' as their hero.

In the following days the Kiri nin were held under arrest inside a house but were eventually released from that place when it was time to leave after Naruto interrogated them. It turns out that they were working for Gato to raise funds for a coup against the current Mizukage. (A/N: _You know the story! Blah, blah, coup against the (perceived) evil Yagura, blah, blah, bloodline purges! **********Also in my fic, Raiga is not the crazy funeral-obsessed nut he is in the anime, does not hate the other swordsmen and has the same goal as Zabuza.******_)

(Cannon from here until the departure and the naming of the bridge except that the Kiri-nin were now coming with the Konoha-nin)

On the way back to Konoha…

They were making good time by jumping from tree to tree. The Kiri-nin were following them without restraints since Naruto placed a complex seal that would paralyze and eventually kill them if they got too far from him so tying them up was unnecessary since none of them had any experience with seals. Kurenai was carrying Ranmaru.

"What's going to happen to us?" Haku asked.

Naruto stayed silent for a while and kept looking forward before answering.

"To you, I'm not sure. You will be charged with aiding a missing-nin in battle against a Konoha team but, since Zabuza-san taught you since you were a child, you will most likely benefit from mitigating circumstances and will be put on probation and community service. Your bloodline will help a lot since Konoha loves bloodline users." Naruto answered and Haku looked at him in surprise. It would be heaven if he didn't have to hide his gift so he could not believe the blond.

"Really? Konoha loves bloodlines?" Haku made certain.

"Actually, it's more like it worships them. The village was founded mainly by two bloodline clans after all." Naruto smiled.

"And what about the rest?" he asked a little relieved.

"Since Ranmaru-kun has a bloodline and is even younger he will probably be in an even better position than you and will be admitted into the hospital to be treated." Naruto chirped before getting serious.

"Zabuza-san and Raiga-san will be charged with various crimes and most probably be extradited back to Kirigakure no Sato (Mist village full name) where they will be executed." he confessed.

Haku's mood turned dark and Ranmaru was shocked.

"NO! You lied! You told me that I wouldn't be separated from Raiga-san! Liar! Liar!"

Naruto stayed silent while the kid vented his fury before continuing. "Unless of course, they ask for political asylum. Considering the state that Kiri is in and the fact that they are highly skilled shinobi, they will be saved from extradition but because you have attacked us, interfering with a legal mission, they will be put under arrest and will probably spend a few years in Konoha's prison with their chakra suppressed … where you could visit them during visiting hours. That is until another arrangement is made like, for example, they could be used as mercenaries in a nearly suicidal mission or something like that in exchange for their freedom. Don't worry. Konoha has a complete freedom of choice policy so they would have to agree to the mission first." the blond smiled, turning his head to Haku and Ranmaru who smiled back.

Zabuza and Raiga looked at each other and smirked before nodding. They didn't need words to agree that jail during peacetime would be better than dying pointlessly.

And so the party members had their plans made as they continued their journey.

*End Chapter*

Author notes

****Important*** I am looking for a beta reader with good English skills to correct my sentence structures and other eventual mistakes. I have no idea how to 'use' (for lack of better term) one so if you are interested PM me with instructions like how to send you the file and so on.

I'm sure you are wondering what did Naruto told Sasuke to keep hidden before he pissed in the puddle. It will be revealed during the second part of the Chuunin exam chapters.

Also, don't expect Zabuza or Raiga to appear in my fic like an exam proctor because none of them will. In fact they will probably have minor roles until after the time skip. Authors used the whole 'don't-kill-have-him-join-the-ranks' idea way too much. Also think about the politics involved. They were some of the strongest and highest ranking shinobi in their village. Do you think that Kiri would do nothing and say 'oh sure keep him (Zabuza) and our precious sword relic!'? No! The political implications would be too great.

I noticed that I didn't bash Kakashi as much as I let on and for the fact that I gave you a reason to misunderstand me, I apologize! I wanted Naruto to toy around with him a little bit not to be all 'Go fuck yourself!' on Kakashi.

The second incident at the Fire Capital will be presented during the Chuunin final stage.


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for.

This chapter is dedicated to **SilverFlameHaze **one of my (if not the) most dedicated reviewers. P.S. _You were right about the exclamation marks. Thank you for pointing that out!_

Special thanks to **Princess-Serenity-Serena **for helping me by being the beta for this story and possibly others.

**Previously on NotS:**

"Zabuza-san and Raiga-san will be charged with various crimes and most probably be extradited back to Kirigakure no Sato (Mist village full name) where they will be executed." he confessed.

Haku's mood turned dark and Ranmaru was shocked.

"NO! You lied! You told me that I wouldn't be separated from Raiga-san! Liar! Liar!"

Naruto stayed silent while the kid vented his fury before continuing. "Unless of course, they ask for political asylum. Considering the state that Kiri is in and the fact that they are highly skilled shinobi, they will be saved from extradition but because you have attacked us, interfering with a legal mission, they will be put under arrest and will probably spend a few years in Konoha's prison with their chakra suppressed … where you could visit them during visiting hours. That is until another arrangement is made like, for example, they could be used as mercenaries in a nearly suicidal mission or something like that in exchange for their freedom. Don't worry. Konoha has a complete freedom of choice policy so they would have to agree to the mission first." the blond smiled, turning his head to Haku and Ranmaru who smiled back.

Zabuza and Raiga looked at each other and smirked before nodding. They didn't need words to agree that jail during peacetime would be better than dying pointlessly.

**Main story:**

The party was silent as they approached the mighty wooden gates of Konoha. The two Jounin descended from the trees and the rest followed as it was standard protocol for friendly teams. During the trip, Naruto unsealed a couple of hooded robes from his supplies and gave them to the captives as to not draw any unwanted attention. Not that he needed though as the eternal Chuunin guards Kotetsu and Izumo were too busy being bored out of their minds, with the former constantly complaining about it and the later finding some reasons to prove him wrong.

"Maaaan, this is boring!" Kotetsu yawned.

"Kotetsu, pay attention! Remember that we have the important job of guarding the safety of the village. We are the first and foremost line of defense!" Izumo tried to sidetrack his teammate even though they both knew that they were usually duped by most Henge techniques. He then noticed the Wave party walking closer to them "Look sharp, we have work to do!"

Naruto was the first among them to reach the checkpoint "Hey guys! Guard duty again?" the blonde raised an eyebrow.

The dynamic guard duo smiled "Yup! And before you ask why, know that there isn't a more important job than this other than Hokage!" Izumo puffed his chest.

Naruto deadpanned "You drew the short straws again, didn't you?

They both slumped and nodded slowly.

"Anyway… I take it that the mission went well?" Kotetsu tried to divert the conversation.

The Konoha nin smiled and nodded.

Izumo then looked at his files smiling back "Okay, but who are the ones with the cloak?" he continued pointing at the Kiri nin.

Kakashi stepped forward "They are high-profile captives so it would be best if their ID's were kept secret until we see the Hokage."

Izumo and Kotetsu jumped a little but then looked at each other and nodded. Izumo then continued "I see. Well, glad to have you back in one piece. See ya!"

They all nodded and continued on their way. Deciding to take the short route, they jumped on the roofs and made it to the Hokage Tower in a few minutes.

Hiruzen was having great day since he got word in advance that the two Wave mission teams were coming back some time this day. He was sitting in his chair, silently watching the village from his window while his clones took on the paperwork.

He was broken out of his thoughts by a knock on his office doors.

"Enter!" the old shinobi shouted.

The doors opened and twelve people entered, three of them having their faces hidden by hoods.

"Hey Jijii, I'm back!" Naruto smiled brightly.

Hiruzen chuckled a bit at his own reaction. During the past month he really missed the boy and noticed how … boring the village was without him.

"Welcome back!" the man smiled "Who are these four?" he asked sending a glance at the Kiri party.

Once again Kakashi took the stand as he was the official leader of this mission "These are Kiri-nins that we have captured during our mission." the man gestured at the captives to reveal themselves.

When they complied, Hiruzen's expression shifted to a serious one since in front of him stood two former Mist Swordsman.

"Report!" the Hokage ordered.

The Scarecrow nodded and began. "As you know our original low C-rank mission was upgraded to a high A-rank one the day we left the village. We have sent a preliminary report on the situation when we secured the Demon Brothers so I'm requesting permission to skip that part."

"Granted." Hiruzen waved.

Kakashi nodded and continued "The rest of the journey to Nami was uneventful though I do have to give an official praise to my team for their perfect approach of the camping procedures. I didn't have to coordinate them any further than the initial responsibilities assignments." the Jounin eye-smiled and earned a grin and a nod from the aged Kage.

At this point Kurenai stepped in "A short while after we entered the country 'Hinata' detected an ambush consisting of Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki here, about a mile ahead, which is quite a feat considering that the Byakugan at her age shouldn't have more than five hundred meters range." sending a suspicious glance at Naruto who whistled while looking away. "Anyway, we stopped to decide our next course of action and I must commend Naruto-kun for recommending that we split up, with my team and I taking the client through a detour while Kakashi and his team went forward on the normal path with a transformed Kage Bunshin posing as our client."

Kakashi began once again "Since we expected the surprise we found ourselves in a tactical advantageous position. Once the target was confirmed Zabuza initiated the attack while his apprentice stood behind to intervene if the situation became too much to handle. During the brief introduction my team… surprised me a little because of a certain action."

"The brats were using rock-paper-scissors to decide who will fight me." Zabuza growled and the rest of the adults sweat-dropped.

Kakashi cleared his throat "Anyway, in the end I engaged him in battle but following a mistake I found myself in a very compromising position."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow but Kurenai cleared things for him "He was trapped inside the Water Prison Jutsu but was eventually rescued by Naruto-kun." earning another set of sweat-drops.

"How?" Hiruzen turned to the blonde.

"When I saw this happen I discreetly made a Kage Bunshin that 'jumped' to Kaka-sensei's position while I distracted Zabuza with taunts. I then replaced sensei with a log that had several high-powered exploding tags of my own design while the clone 'jumped' back to our position and began medical treatment on Kaka-sensei. I must say that this would not be possible without my team guarding us against the man's Water Clones while I kept watch on Haku." Naruto confessed turning to his teammates who nodded back.

Sasuke entered the discussion "Needless to say that Zabuza-san was taken by surprised and heavily wounded by the explosion."

"Took my right arm and leg two weeks to heal with medical attention. Which reminds me, THAT HURT BRAT!" he shouted at Naruto making the rest of the people in the room deadpan.

"After that Naruto-kun got the information of the location of Tazuna's house from a clone that was sent with Kurenai-san's team and we made our way there with our sensei suffering from a minor case of chakra exhaustion that took a day to recover from." Hinata continued telling the rest of the story until the end of Gato.

Hiruzen was deeply worried for the boy now. It was one thing to have your first kill on your first mission out of the village, but it was another to kill so many at once. While he was immensely proud of the blond's actions and tactical mindset he deeply hoped that his mental stability was not shattered by the events.

"I see. Is there anything else to add to the report?" was all that the Professor could answer.

Naruto took a step forward and he was now a foot away from the desk. "I have some extra information I would like to report but first I must apologize for acting without informing my mission commander." the blond bowed towards Kakashi who was taken a bit by surprise. "Two days after the final attack I went out in reconnaissance of the area and eventually I came across Gato's estate. By now word had gotten out that their boss was not coming back and so the remaining guards began to ransack the property for its treasures. Though they didn't get much except some valuable pieces of furniture and art since, thankfully, the midget's paranoia and greed made his home a more secure place for valuables than a bank. The thugs that were robbing the place were pathetic as they fainted from my KI when I simply walked among them after making sure that there were no remaining shinobi present." Naruto explained making the adults in the room and the team seven Gennin to sweat-drop.

"After I locked them up inside an unused vault I made about three hundred Kage Bunshin and had them thoroughly search the place. It took about an hour to get a detailed layout of the place as well as to find the hidden secure areas using my 'gift'. There were a couple of C and B-rank Jutsu scrolls as well as a summoning contract left out from the former missing-nin that Gato previously hired and backstabbed but more importantly I found most of the documents belonging to the people of Nami like land deeds, bank accounts as well as an enormous amount of cash and account numbers and passwords totaling to a sum higher than what he could have stolen from the citizens and I suspect most of it came from his shady businesses. I left most it at Tazuna's with a Shadow Clone to tell the man to distribute it fairly among the people. I guess that when he got home he either fainted or had ryo signs in his eyes. Oh and I sealed payment for a high S-class mission, the jutsu scrolls since we don't need any from in here and some information that would be of interest in this scroll and left a receipt there. I will be keeping the summoning scroll since I think I know who it belongs to." The blond smiled handing the scroll over to the Hokage.

Hiruzen took it and smiled back at the boy "I see. Was that all Naruto?"

Naruto placed a finger to his chin and thought a minute "Well I guess so if you don't count the fact that I planted nearly five square miles of vegetables near a river that was close to the village. The clone I left back there should have informed Tazuna-san about that as well. Ah the wonders of an army of Shadow Clones."

Besides the blond's teammates and the Hokage, the rest of the ninja present there were sweeping the floor with their jaws as their head swayed from side to side.

Naruto then turned to his sensei but not looking in the man's eyes… eye. "I apologize once again for not notifying anyone of this Kakashi-sensei." he continued bowing slightly.

The Cyclops took a second to shake his mind of the stupor before regaining his composure and clearing his throat. "Well I guess I can let this one slide since I'll admit that, based on your story, you possibly handled that situation probably better than I would have. But what happened to the guards that you incapacitated?"

Naruto blinked twice before smiling toothily "After I cleared out the place, I dropped them off at the Daimio's place 'giftwrapped'." he answered and the man eye-smiled.

Hiruzen then cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention "Now that the story is clear, what do we do with the prisoners? Kakashi, any suggestion?" the Kage turned to the man.

"Actually Hokage-sama, Naruto here has a very good plan of action." the Jounin eye-smiled towards the boy.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei! Well, concerning Zabuza Momochi and Raiga Kurosuki there is nothing more we can do with them either than keep their suppression seals on their necks on and have them imprisoned here in Konoha. Because of the political situation in Kiri, they would like to ask for political asylum at least until the situation has stabilized there. I also recommend minimum security since those seals are extremely hard to remove without the proper key."

'**Tell them the juicy part about the seal kit!**" the resident demon fox grinned.

'Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me Nii-san!' the boy opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Also the seals will explode with the force of twenty standard exploding tags if a predetermined distance from the trigger is trespassed. Right now I am that trigger and they can't get more than sixty feet away or closer than five feet or else its 'kaboom!'" the boy chirped while making a slicing motion on his neck with his right index finger sending a chill down the rest of the shinobi's spines. "It has a maximum range of one mile radius."

Hiruzen pondered this suggestion and thought nothing wrong with having two Kiri swordsmen held captive. It actually would give a boost to Konoha's reputation that they can perform such a feat as capturing them alive. "Agreed!"

Naruto smiled before becoming serious again "As for Haku, since he is not a registered ninja and his actions did not pose a direct threat to our lives we can only charge him with aiding a missing nin and attacking Konoha shinobi outside of war or any other legislation infringement and could be sentenced to serve minimal time in prison." he continued turning to Zabuza and making a motion with his head.

"I confess that I am to blame for Haku's actions since I found him as a small child and molded his young mind to be loyal to me under any circumstances. It was akin to brainwashing and was under effect until the blond broke my control during the last battle!" the former Seven Swordsman announced.

Naruto grinned and then turned to the Hokage "Indeed, based on observations I would have to support his claim. I recommend that Haku be cleared of all charges and should be offered residence inside the village. His Hyoton kekkei genkai would also be advantageous for our military strength although at least a six months' probation period would need to pass until he could register as a shinobi. During that time he could work as a part timer at the hospital and I will vouch for his medical knowledge." the blond then looked dead serious at Haku "That is if he has no more professional ties to Zabuza Momochi!"

Haku's eyes opened wide before his face adorned a soft expression "Although I still do care for Zabuza-sama as a son would for a father… from now on I will walk on my own path and that, hopefully doesn't involve killing."

Naruto and the Hokage nodded "Agreed! Naruto, you will make the necessary hospital arrangements!"

"Count on me Jijii!" Naruto saluted and the rest of the shinobi either smiled or grinned.

Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle. "And what about the small boy?" he said looking softly towards Ranmaru who was hiding behind Raiga.

Naruto let out a small sigh "Same situation as Haku but with Raiga. His body condition is a little worrisome but not life-threatening so I wanted to get him a Konoha citizenship so he could be admitted in the Hospital. He also possesses a strange Doujutsu that can see through solid objects in color and has quite the range, mask certain wavelengths and project genjutsu that can fool Hinata's Byakugan"

The old Hokage nearly fell out of his chair. This Doujutsu would essentially be the Byakugan's worse enemy and he would be damned if he would let it fall into the wrong hands and endanger his own shinobi. The fact that he was doing it while helping a young child was a very welcomed bonus. He quickly pulled out a piece of paper and writing on it with practiced ease (from decades of paperwork) he quickly filled in the gaps and then turned it to Kakashi and Kurenai to sign as witnesses to the event. He then handed a copy to the boy who nervously took it "Congratulations on joining Konoha, Ranmaru-kun!" Hiruzen greeted the boy as warmly as a grandfather which caused the boy to open up a little more as he thanked the Kage.

Naruto then told Ranmaru to say goodbye to Raiga and the others as he made a Kage Bunshin to take him to the Hospital. He initially refused to part from the Kiri Swordsman's side but a hug and some convincing words later from Naruto-clone he was convinced and Hiraishined to their destination where he was admitted and would be cared for.

Hiruzen smiled at the boy's actions and then looked at Haku, handing the boy a similar document "Now, the only problem is where you would be staying."

"Jijii, he can stay in my old apartment!" Naruto offered before turning to Haku "It is pretty clean and decent looking but the area is not that 'fun' to live in." the blond looked away.

Haku adorned his patented kind girlish expression "Trust me Naruto-kun, I've had to do with much worse during my travels so if it has running water, a bed and a door I can deal with the rest."

Naruto smirked kindly and nodded slowly.

"Perfect. ANBU!" the old man called out and three ANBU agents appeared "Take Zabuza and Raiga to the holding cells!" Naruto then reset the seals on their necks to react to a scroll that had the same short distance limit but extended the long distance one to a mile and handed it to one of the black ops after he explained its use and also added the seal-key on it. The agents then shunshined together with their prisoners."

Hiruzen then went to his desk and took out a red scroll and signed it "These scrolls confirm that you have successfully accomplished a high A-rank mission and will be paid accordingly. If there is nothing else you wish to report, you are dismissed! Naruto you stay there is something I wish to talk to you." he ordered and the shinobi except Naruto took the scroll before bowing and walking quietly out the door but just as they closed the two remaining ninja jumped when sounds came from the other side.

"Yahoo! Wait 'till mom and sis hears about this!" "Arf!" came one voice followed by another even louder screech "Congratulations on your A-rank mission SAAASUKE-KUN!". What can one say? Old habits die hard.

Naruto and Hiruzen both let out a long sigh before the man began "Naruto, the reason I had you stay is because I received a document that you would find quite interesting." The old man smirked as he handed Naruto a greenish scroll but Naruto didn't even spare it a glance.

"Jijii, I wanted to talk to you alone as well." Naruto took a seat near the man's desk.

Hiruzen was taken aback since Naruto was this direct only when it was very serious news. "Yes?"

"Alone." Naruto shifted his gaze to the shadows who poofed when Hiruzen made a small hand gesture. Keeper of Secrets grew out from underneath Naruto and covered the windows making the room pitch black before the Kage turned on the lights.

"Now, I take it that it is serious news." the old man crossed his fingers before his eyes.

Naruto nodded and pointed to the scroll he handed the man earlier. He opened it and revealed a honeycomb sealing array. Each 'cell' was marked with a different kanji. There were four cells in total. 'Money', 'Jutsu', 'Documents' and the one who attracted the most attention was the one named 'Gardener'.

Seeing the name of the last cell Hiruzen immediately jumped in surprised and looked at the boy who nodded and unsealed the cell revealing another scroll.

" Jijii, I found these files by chance when I dispelled my clones and gone through their memories. It tells about Gato's slave trading operations and a certain missing-nin's diary. You might think that these have nothing to do with Danzo but I found a small link when I double read everything and it is quite disturbing." Naruto closed his eyes and unsealed a smaller scroll from the more recent one. He handed it to Sarutobi "This is the short version! You will find the detailed documents inside."

The Hokage took the rolled up paper and after five minutes of reading it he slammed it down on his desk with minimal force.

"Naruto are you sure?" Hiruzen stared at the boy who nodded.

"Based on the information here, I'm sure that Gato was selling quite a lot of slaves to Orochimaru's middleman. And if the information in the diary was correct then the missing-nin was one of the Sannin's scientists. I don't know the details but from what managed to piece together from history scrolls, can I claim that the man was doing some illegal research using live human subjects?" the boy said while reading the diary that he unsealed during his statement.

Hiruzen nodded wearily.

Naruto shot him a glance before returning to his reading material. "I see. Well luckily or unluckily, depending on how you see this, it appears that this scientist was also a Chuunin ranked shinobi and was attracted by the call of money Gato promised him. It's all written down here." He said sifting through the pages and taking a few seconds to let it all sink in.

The blond then took a deep breath and continued "What is also written down here is that initially, the snake needed funding for his projects and found a very important source right here, within Konoha. It seems that Danzo approached Orochimaru with funding in exchange for something regarding research into Hashirama Senju's DNA and based on historical fact there are three possibilities for what the mummy-man could use it for. One would be the feared ability known as Mokuton (wood release). Second he was trying to gain access to the First Hokage's ability to control Bijuu and thus would be a direct threat to me. And finally it could be both." Naruto pondered out loud.

Hiruzen was having a hard time processing all the information. Although from the outside you would think that he was calm and collected, inside he was going a mile a minute. To think that his former favorite student had dealings with his rival didn't seem that farfetched but the dealings themselves were a reason to be worried. He of course remembered agent 'Tenzo' (Yamato-taicho), who was an unfortunate test subject of the snake sannin's mokuton research.

Naruto noticed his weariness and closed the book rather loudly "Well, unless we find some substantial evidence all we can do is keep an eye on mummy-man since this diary is worth at most as circumstantial evidence. Both of them are monsters although Orochimaru is a nut and Danzo is a megalomaniac. Though I am curious as to what is Orochimaru experimenting that he would need live human subjects…" the boy trailed off.

Hiruzen lifted a hand motioning to the boy to stop. "Naruto, what I am going to tell you now stays inside this office! It is an S-class secret of the highest order!" the old Kage ordered and the blond nodded. "What Orochimaru was searching for while he was still in the village was eternal life. He used villagers and Konoha shinobi to develop Kinjutsu of the most disgusting kind and it appears that most of his research centered on a certain seal that was linked to his chakra."

"Seal?" Naruto's interest was tickled.

"Indeed, it was called a Curse Seal and it had many forms but the most powerful ones were the Heaven and Earth variants. If a host body survives the sealing they are able to gain extraordinary power." the Hokage explained.

The blond didn't buy it "Such a 'convenient' bonus cannot be without its price."

Sarutobi smirked and nodded "This seal corrupts the mind of the user and slowly breaks down all but the strongest of wills making one think that Orochimaru is a god of some sorts."

"I understand." was all that Naruto could say while processing the old man's words. "Do you know anybody who still has the seal?" he perked up.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow "Why do you want to know?"

"Curiosity. I want to see if I can create a counter to it." the boy smiled.

"In that case, I do know someone… and so do you."

"What do you mean?" the boy blinked.

"Anko. She is the one with the seal. She never used it and so it regressed. She was also his student and it is a very touchy subject" Hiruzen explained.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his seat "ONE-SAN?" It all made sense but at the same time it was terribly confusing. 'So that's why she can summon snakes…' "I see." the boy calmed down. "I'll have to have a word with her. Don't worry, I'll be gentile." Naruto smiled and the Hokage sighed but then smiled back.

"Is there anything else you would like to add?" Hiruzen stated and the boy moved his head from side to side. "Okay, then congratulations once again for completing your first A-rank mission as well as a still standing … S-rank mission!" the old man smirked.

The boy's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Wha?"

"Any new and important information added to Orochimaru's file is treated as completing an S-rank assignment. Actually… a little bonus is required considering that you uncovered his connection to a 'certain weed' (Danzo), so I am upgrading the status of this mission to top S-rank!" Hiruzen stated seriously.

"H-Hai!" Naruto blinked.

The old man's features then became kinder. "Other than that there was something else I wanted to talk to you about."

The blond stood silent.

"A scroll came for you today from the Fire Capital. I think you will find it very interesting to say the least." Sarutobi smirked as he handed the two paper rolls to the eyebrow raising boy.

"Interesting?" the said boy looked at the man before opening the bigger scroll and reading it. After a minute or so reading his eyes became as big as the Hokage Mountain (exaggeration) "Holy mullah!" Naruto shouted "So MANY numbers!"

Hiruzen then broke into a laugh but then calmed down "It seems that Nobuyuki Konomora, the owner of Maelstrom Printing which is the publisher of Jiraya's Icha Icha considered you a partner for a long time. Now the question is 'why?'." the old man raised an eyebrow.

Naruto got into a thinking pose "Nobuyuki Konomora… Nobuyuki … no, Konomora… Konomo… Kono … ! … KONO-Jii!"

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow "'Kono-jii'?"

"Yeah! He's a nice old man I met during my trip to the Fire Capital when I was seven who had trouble with his business."

*Flashback*

The day after the Meian incident Naruto was walking around the various stores in the shopping district. He was looking around until he found a rundown printing shop that had interesting looking books displayed in the window. His love for books got him to enter the shop just in time to see a man in his early sixties standing on a chair with a rope tied to a crossbeam and circling his neck. The boy instantly froze at the sight just as the man kicked the chair from underneath.

"DOOON'T!" the boy shouted at the man started gagging. In an instant Naruto rushed forward and using his early shinobi training he jumped over the man and used the manifested Meian to sever the rope.

The man fell to the floor and started panting like crazy.

"Why did you do that gaki? Do you know how long it took me to muster the courage to do that?" the man snapped at Naruto.

"OJI-SAN YOU BAKA!" Naruto shouted back making the man jump in surprise. "Why did you try to kill yourself?"

"None of your business kid! Leave me alone!" the man was fuming.

"No! I won't leave you alone! Not until you tell me!" Naruto took a step forward.

"Shut up kid! I'm about to lose everything! My wife left me! My kids don't even know me! And now, I'm about to lose this store! Now get out and let me die! Go back to your parents and keep out of this! You don't know how painful life can be yet!" the man said clenching his fists with his back turned to the blonde. He was seething and was ready to cry until he felt a tug on his leg. He slowly turned his torso around but was met by a jumping haymaker from Naruto that sent him skidding across the polished floor

It was Naruto's turn to fume. "At least you can still see them if you wanted to you baka-jijii. I would go back to my parents if I could except they died protecting me!"

"What?" the man felt a jolt in his heart.

"Do you know about the Kyuubi attack seven years ago?" Naruto sighed.

The man slowly nodded.

"My parents died skewered by one of his claws that were aimed at me when I was born! I never got to see them! You baka-jii, at least you know your wife and kids even if they don't know you! I only got pictures of them. And you know what? They weren't the only ones to die! Many lost their lives that night!" Naruto yelled at the man who was now slowly rising to a sitting position.

"I don't know how painful life can be? You have NO idea how much it can hurt! You see, because I was born that night and because of these birthmarks on my face, people thought I was the Kyuubi reborn so they did everything they could to make my life miserable from neglect to beatings so bad I could have died countless times! I was thrown out of the orphanage when I could barely talk, lived on the street for many months and ate things you wouldn't want to step on!" Naruto growled as he grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt "So don't tell me that your life is painful you coward! Because here's an update, someone else always has it worse!"

Naruto let go of the man's shirt and stood cross armed above him looking mighty pissed. The man had eyes the size of dinner plates but then quickly looked away from the boy with an expression of regret.

"Geez… what kind of a man I am to get talked down by a brat," he mumbled but Naruto heard him and got a huge tick-mark above his eye. He was ready to sock him a new one but then the man shook his head not noticing the blonde's reaction. "You are right, I'm a coward! I am… was afraid of change. I thought that I was too old to start again when I would lose this place next week," the man cringed.

Naruto's anger washed away and was now looking at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing to worry yourself kid, you had enough in your life to care for an old cowardly fool," the man's features softened grandfatherly.

Naruto didn't buy it. "Oh come on! I don't know much about adult worries but when I'm upset, talking to somebody usually makes me feel better," he smiled while plopping his behind on the man's legs who reacted with an audible 'omph!'

"Well, it's just that if I don't get fifty thousand ryo by the end of the week, I lose the store due to debt," the man sighed and took to looking around the store 'one last time'. As he slowly turned his head he found his nose stuck into a big roll of ryo bills. "Wha?" he said surprised at the amount of money and the fact that tracing along the length he found it was attached to a smiling blonde.

(A/N: _According to Kishimoto-san the exchange rate for ryo is one to ten yen so 50,000 ryo = 500,000 yen ~= 6500 usd at the time when I wrote this chapter._)

"Fifty thousand ryo old man!" the blonde chirped.

"W-How?" the man was afraid to touch the money so his hands gravitated around the roll.

"Recently I made a lot of good… and rich friends and I'm staying with them so all the money I get, I saved it up and I thought I would spend it at the capital on some souvenirs but I guess you could use it more," Naruto explained putting a hand on his chin.

The man smiled at the boy's kindness but shook his head. "Thank you young man but I couldn't possibly take your hard earned money like this!"

Naruto pouted when he saw how stubborn the man was but a light bulb flashed in his head. "Then sell me some expensive books! Oh and they better not be kiddy books! I got over them a year and a half ago. Right now I'm reading novels like 'Tale of the Gutsy Ninja' by Jiraiya of the Sannin."

The man blinked fast a couple of times and then laughed wholeheartedly until it died down. "I haven't met such an addicted reader in all my life. Fine kid, let me show you around and you can pick what you like although you can't enter one section."

"What section?" Naruto tilted his head.

"The Adult section," the man grinned perversely.

"Oh, the smut section. Don't worry, I'll stay clear out of it!" Naruto got a tick-mark.

"It's not smut brat! It's the highest form of art!" the man blushed as some blood came down from one of his nostrils.

The boy's tick mark enlarged three times "Riiight! And my name is Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf not brat, ero-jijii!"

"Don't call me that! I am Nobuyuki Konomora, owner of Kono Printing."

"Nice to meet you Kono-jii!" the boy grinned.

The man chuckled. "By the way kid, you have one hell of an arm there," he said massaging his jaw.

The man's features softened and he led Naruto to pick his books.

*End Flashback*

"Really, he scared the crap out of me when I saw him dangle like that." Naruto mumbled.

Sarutobi was blinking rapidly. "That's one heck of a story. Well, it seems that a short while after that Jiraiya appeared and took him as his publisher so he rapidly expanded his business and is now one of the richest people in the world."

"Yeah and it says here that he got his family back. Nice job Kono-jii!" Naruto smiled holding the scroll.

Sarutobi smiled grandfatherly. "Anyway Naruto-kun, what are you going to do now considering that you have an account with five more figures than our whole village's budget?" he continued with a tinge of playful sarcasm and envy.

"Well, I was thinking of buying a house later on but I guess I can do it now. I love staying in the Hyuuga compound but it gets tiresome to keep reading 'Die demon!' on the walls of your dear one's home," Naruto sighed and Hiruzen cringed. "I already have the plans for some advanced seal defense in place but I need my own home to do that and also your permission so as to not make that much trouble for both of us since it could cause some 'accidents' to the knuckleheads who try to break in."

Hiruzen didn't miss a heartbeat and immediately pulled out two scrolls which he quickly filled and handed to the boy.

"Permission granted! One scroll is a written confirmation that I couldn't refuse even if I wanted to since it is your right as a shinobi of Konoha as well as a property owner, and the other is your S-rank mission confirmation that you have to take to the Missions Office." "Thanks Jijii but I can't take the last one! It was a team effort since I couldn't leave the house without my friends guarding it." Naruto declared.

"Your parents would be so proud of you Naruto! Not many Gennin (and even some higher ninja) would refuse the honor of having an S-rank in their files for that reason. Very well…" Hiruzen smiled and added a couple more lines on the mission scroll. "There, I also included the names of your teammates and Kakashi." he said tossing the scroll to Naruto.

The boy jumped out of his seat and gave the man a big hug. "Thanks Jijii!"

The Hokage returned the hug. "You guys deserved it Naruto!"

They then separated and the boy lifted the privacy seal, moving towards the exit.

"Naruto, about the… bandits. Do you need some free time to … come to terms with it?" the old man asked the boy who had his back turned. He knew, oh he knew so well. How hard the first kills are on the soul.

Naruto stood there motionless for a couple of seconds but it felt like an eternity, before turning his head around but his expression was normal. "No, not really."

"Are you sure?" Hiruzen worried.

Naruto just smiled kindly and nodded. "I know what are you thinking of Jijii but don't worry. It is how the pulse of the world works. Remember when I told you how I got Meian, about the Wisdom of the Dragon. It isn't knowledge or an increased mental capacity, but more like an understanding of the relations between all the layers of creation. It is difficult to explain but it's like your mind is opened to everything and you see all the details that make up existence. I know what awaits them in the Pure World and I can see what would have happened if they lived. I could see it like the branches of a tree. It's like… looking from the top of the Hokage Mountain on the Village and you notice how everything fits together but in this case the village is 'everything that exists', heaven or earth," the blonde explained making the old man drop his pipe from his mouth.

"I see. It must be quite a 'view'."

"Yup, though it doesn't make killing more enjoyable and I don't think it should, it just makes you see the bigger picture. Plus it comes with an awesome secret power, he-he!" Naruto grinned and the Hokage chuckled as the boy exited the office.

'They would be proud of you so much Naruto-kun. And I can practically see you with my hat on though you must wait a little more,' Hiruzen thought while he chuckled.

Immediately after that, Naruto met with his team at their training ground and after he made a clone to take Haku to his apartment, he told them the news excluding the secret parts, telling them that he would have to tell them the whole thing under more 'confidential' circumstances. This, of course, meant that Kakashi would go to the Hokage to get the information and Naruto would either tell them in his home or brief them telepathically. He also told them that he was now technically filthy rich and gave them the number of figures in his account which of course made them excavate the ground with their jaws. The Jounin sensei was also immensely proud of the team spirit the blonde displayed regarding the S-rank mission.

Kakashi was the first to recover from his stupor. "Okay Naruto, so now that you have enough money to buy a small town and still have enough that your grandchildren's grandchildren can live a happy life, what are you going to do now?" he said trying to sound as normal as possible even though his voice shook at the statement of the blonde's new funds.

Naruto took a moment to think of the best way to tell his female teammate and sweetheart the news but decided that the direct approach is the best one so he let it rip (*fart* A/N: _Not like that! Bad author, bad!_). With a sigh he began.

"I am thinking of buying a 'small' compound close in the clans district and equip it with everything I need, after which I'll be moving there." he said and looking into Hinata's eyes he found what he was expecting, sadness and concern.

"But Naruto-kun, why? Don't you like living with me anymore?" she trembled as mist was threatening to envelop her eyes.

The blonde let out another sigh as he was starting to get into the habit of doing it lately. "That's not it Hinata-chan. It hurts me just as much to move but it has to be done."

"Why? Is it because of father?" she nearly jumped on him to keep him from leaving.

"What? NO! Hiashi-sama is a very kind and honorable man," he said, startled by the girl's thoughts but also surprising Kakashi who thought of the man was an icicle. "It's just that I can't stand it anymore. I can't stand the fact that, because of me the Hyuugas have to suffer those humiliating cowardly acts. You remember what happened to the compound walls the week before we left for Nami. Also Hiashi-sama had to increase the guard to keep the ever increasing 'hero-wannabes' from slaying the 'demon child'. I mean these guys just don't take a hint!" the boy growled.

Kakashi was a little bit confused. "What do you mean Naruto?"

"I mean that the walls alone usually have to be repainted four to five times a month to remove the 'Die demon!' or 'Demon lovers!' graffiti from them and of course, the guards have to be extra careful for the usual bi-monthly assassination attempts at my life. The guards practically tripled within a year after I was welcomed there. Also, because of me Hiashi-sama lost part of his political power in the council as some civilian merchants no longer support him. All because of the fact that these morons can't seem to get the fact that I am not Kurama-nii." Naruto clenched his fist. "So I decided to move somewhere nearby if I have the possibility.

The scarecrow was surprised but kept his cool while Hinata understood the situation but looked like it had punched her hard in the gut. Sasuke was the most understanding of the three and he rested a hand on the blonde's shoulder and the other on Hinata's earning two nods.

"Well, I already found a nice compound I would like to buy just two streets away from the Hyuugas but I was hoping Sasuke could help me out with this one." Naruto scoffed.

"What do you need me for?" the brunet asked.

"Well the thing is, that the compound is owned by a civilian council member and knowing them he would probably charge me enough to buy half of Konoha if not more. I now have more than enough money for that but I have no intention of filling the greedy pig's pockets." Naruto let out a small 'tch' but then smirked. "Also another well-known thing about the council is that they will use every opportunity to pucker up their lips to your rear end so I was hoping you would use your name and my money to get me that compound, pleaaase!" Naruto declared while holding his head low and his hands prayer-style above his head in a pleading motion.

Sasuke frowned a bit when he heard the word 'council' because of the whole Itachi situation but then grinned. "Sure! Anything to sting those pompous peacocks."

"Thanks!" said the blonde while hi-five-ing his teammate.

And so they did. Kakashi went to the Hokage to inquire about the S-rank and the three dashed off to the nearest bank where Naruto withdrew a decent sum which he thought was more than enough to buy the compound, decorate and furnish it and the future training ground as well as enough to live off a year. He barely scratched the sum left in the account by the way. Naturally the cashier was a Kyuubi-hating woman who tried every possible means to keep the boy's money from declaring it a bank error to downright theft saying that he doesn't deserve money and should live off dirt. Naruto was of course extremely angry and countered her every move with his knowledge in economics to threatening her with arrest as he was a licensed shinobi of the leaf. What helped was that Sasuke was present and, being a Uchiha shinobi also meant that he was part of the Shinobi police now run by his mother and managed by non-Uchiha ninja. Finally the woman relented and they all left the bank safely, albeit extremely 'grandiosso' pissed.

The 'negotiations' for the compound went on as expected and Sasuke got it for the price of what normally would have been only the front yard. After the councilman left Sasuke signed the property over to Naruto and they went to take a look inside. The place was three quarters of the size of the Uchiha compound though it only had one main paved road stretching to what appeared to be the Main House and a Guest house near the side of it, all surrounded by a ten foot tall granite wall. From the wall alone, the Gennin drew the conclusion that either the previous owner was a complete recluse, or he was extremely paranoid. Either way, it worked fine for Naruto. The yards were extremely bare and poorly kept since this was just a side property that the man put up for sale so nobody lived in it for quite a while.

(A/N: _Starting from here I will describe Naruto's property, especially his new mansion. I thought of it as a Victorian-style one and is pretty big. Also I read a lot of fanfics and, in my opinion they spend too much time detailing the construction and such like 'here you would take a sharp turn to the right and would get to blah blah x number of spots on the walls blah blah move on to the left you have x number of cracks on the floor and the details on this is …' so I will try to concentrate on less detail and leave more to your imagination._) The main house was more of an occidental style mansion with three floors. The main floor had a large greeting hall with a small crystal chandelier and wooden flooring. On the right, there was a door that would lead to the fully equipped kitchen and through it to a small dining room and eventually the back yard, this portion of the mansion having marble flooring. On the right were two doors, one for the living room and one for the large bathroom that was similar to an ancient Greek bathhouse and even had a large Jacuzzi with huge windows that were covered venetian blinds. Directly in front was another door that opened up into a smaller hallway that split into another three doors. The one to the right lead, to what seemed to be, the main dining room. It looked like could fit at least twenty people inside and connected to the backyard through two large glass sliding doors. The door on the left belonged to a decent size ball room with black and white quality marble flooring and twelve foot tall Victorian style windows and also connected to the backyard through large oak doors.

The second floor connected to the main one through two parallel curving sets of stairs on each side of the door that led to the small hallway. It had a larger master bedroom and another nine smaller ones each with their own bathroom and balcony. Though smaller was an exaggeration since each one was larger than Naruto's Hyuuga room.

The third floor connected to the other two by a spiraling staircase just behind a small wall in between the large staircases that linked the second to the first had five different sized rooms though their function was unclear. Also, at the end of the hallway there was a small door that opened up to a staircase that led to the attic.

Naruto also noticed that there was no basement, fact that he planned on correcting soon so he would have a good place to make a family vault and store his … 'beverages'. The other thing that was missing was the furniture. Besides the bathrooms and kitchen, the mansion was completely bare.

The backyard was in the same condition as the front but it was larger so in the future Naruto planned on adding a fully equipped training ground, flower gardens, a pergola, a small pond and anything else he could think about. Boy he had his work cut out for him.

But first things first, he unsealed a scroll from his armband and from it he took out some top quality sealing supplies he bought under Henge since if he went in his true appearance, the best things he could get is heavily diluted, nearly dry cheap paint and a tree branch with a string for the brush at the price of three top quality sealing kits.

He took out only the paint from his supplies and sealed everything back. He had a bottle of about three gallons.

"Okay guys, time for me to get busy!" he shouted while cracking his fingers.

"What are you going to do?" Sasuke questioned.

"Well, for starters, I'm going to add a power capture array to the walls. After that I will add converter seals on top of it and at fixed intervals in the walls I will post a dual layered shield emitter shield and link it with a power distribution grid to the converters that will also be linked to me since all of these will be dual DNA(Blood)-Chakra Signal seal," he explained smiling but his Gennin teammates looked at him like he was talking in a foreign language.

"Naruto-kun, we don't speak 'sealing', can you please repeat it in English?" Hinata asked with a large sweat drop.

"Oh, sorry guys! I will add surround the compound in a shield that will reject anything back from where it came, so basically nothing can jump the walls, destroy them or dig under it without my permission and I will use a seal array similar to the one the Konoha power plant uses but much more efficient and compact to power it. It will also be a DNA seal attuned to my chakra signal so nobody can mess with it without my permission. Even if they get a sample of my DNA they would also need a specific quantity of my Chakra which I will also key-code to an impulse signal that only I would know. Basically flaring my chakra on and off at the wall at preset intervals so the seals will only react then."

"Wow! So the only way to break the shield would be to have your blood or a large portion of your flesh, to have your chakra and to know the code." Sasuke blinked his enlarged eyes.

"Yup! That or fifty or so S-rank jutsu hitting the shield at the same time. They could also cut the power to it but that would be nearly impossible since it draws power from all around us. I will also add some storage seals to capture excess power and should be able to keep the shield up for three months, give or take. Oh and to make sure that people don't suffocate inside, the shield would be on standby until it detects chakra through a wider exterior layer and will activate only when something with chakra makes contact with it. Now, here I go!" the blonde explained before making his way to the nearest portion of the walls.

He opened the bottle of paint and cut his finger, letting a few drops of blood mix in with the paint. He then charged his hands with chakra and made thirty-seven hand-signs and then touched the wall with one hand before inserting a finger into the paint. The bottle began shaking as streams of paint flowed around Naruto's hand, arm, over the shoulders up through the other sleeve and on the wall where it quickly covered it like tentacles, spreading rapidly and branching. When the paint finally stopped moving it glowed a bit before turning into complex seal words and glyphs that would converge over large kanji for 'shield', 'power' and 'scan'.

Immediately after that, the power seals began glowing brightly. Ten seconds later, the seals arrays began glowing as well as chakra seemed to 'flow' through them starting from the power ones, heading for the shield ones and once the power reached them they lit up like search lights and two translucent parallel beams of greenish-yellow energy shot up from the four corners of the compound walls about a hundred and fifty feet in the air before they connected between themselves creating a box-like shield which 'shined' a bit before becoming completely invisible.

Naruto panted a little "Phew! It's done. I also added some restoration seals so that, in case some wise-guys vandalize it, the wall will just clean itself. Come over here so I can key you guys so it won't reject you too." He motioned for them to come and they complied. Putting one hand to the wall and another on each of them, one at a time, he proceeded to do just that. "Also, you should know that the walls don't reject unknowns unless they attack it, only the bare shield will do that. This is just so it doesn't fling anybody who would try to rest against them to the dark side of the moon or is frozen stiff, depending on how I set it."

'**I personally prefer the second option.**' Kurama commented inside Naruto.

'I know you do nii-san… and so do I!' Naruto answered mentally as he set the barrier to the said option through a chakra enhanced mental command.

The blonde then made his way to the gate and, once again using some paint and chakra, he created a seal on the right pillar that surrounded the kanji for 'Contact' that was linked to him while he was inside the shield. Now he took out a paint brush and wrote a message on the metal gate.

'WARNING! This is a shinobi residence. Anybody, friendly or foe, who tries to enter this compound without permission from the owner will find that impossible and will face the consequences of such an action in accordance with Konoha laws. If you have some business with a resident please use the 'Contact' seal on the right side of the gate by touching it. Have a nice day!'

After that, the group went to buy furniture and a couple of paintings. Since Naruto's budget got off easily thanks to Sasuke he now could afford to go all out. He Henged into a boy with brown hair, no whisker marks and dark eyes but kept his general shape so he could also buy some new clothes. By the end of the day he bought enough to furnish the entire house. Notably, he bought a king size bed for the master bedroom, a large oak table for the dining room, and on the third floor he turned a room into a library and a smaller one into an office. He acquired a lot of paintings, sculptures and plants, some gardening equipment and a LOT of normal paint.

Another room near the library became a temporary storage place for different shinobi equipment, at least until he could build his basement vault. He also bought a lot of different clothes but most of them had Orange in different shades and quantities. All of this was possible with Sasuke's 'haggling' ability (basically he had an Uchiha discount) and Hinata's good taste.

He used a small army of shadow clones and the Hiraishin seals he placed strategically inside the house, to carry everything once it had been purchased and before they even got back from shopping the clones had finished cleaning up and setting most of the objects inside the house except some things that clearly needed a 'woman's touch', or more specifically it needed Hinata to direct the clones so as to not butcher the artistic values of the said objects.

The backyard was the one who suffered the most extensive modification. Using three hundred clones, he created a state-of-the-art training ground complete with repair and chakra damping seals, a small pond that doubled as a swimming pool fed by a small creek that originated from a spring that used seals to pump the water from underground and together with his teammates and a little secret he had been working on for a while he created trees and flower gardens complimented by the pergola he wanted earlier.

Finally Naruto unsealed a large three foot wide Uzumaki crest and, after splitting it clearly at the middle he stuck each part on each metal door that formed the gate so that when it closed the crest would be whole again and between it and the warning he wrote a large kanji that read 'UZUMAKI'.

**'Kit, do you think it's wise to post your name like this?**' Kurama asked.

'What do you mean nii-san? It's my place.' Naruto answered sheepishly.

**'I mean that there will be even more idiots who will try to get insi… oh I get it, more victims. Heh, keep up the good work!**' the fox grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

'I will." the blonde answered with an equal expression on his face.

All in all, by the time the Sun set, the compound became fit for royalty.

Being content with the state of his new home, Naruto and his teammates split up, Sasuke left for home and the rest headed for the Hyuuga compound.

When they got there, Naruto asked for a general meeting to form, saying that he had something important to tell them. It didn't take long for the people to gather inside the largest room they had and, from his position next to Hiashi and his immediate family, Naruto rose to his feet and began.

"Thank you all for listening to my selfish and rather sudden request!" he shouted. In the background faint whispers could be heard saying 'No problem' and 'Anything for you Naruto-sama' although the Hyuuga code made it impossible for these words to rise in volume.

"I do not want waste your time so I will try to be brief. This clan, no, this family has offered me their friendship and kindness when I had none! You have brought some light in my dark world, have rescued me from that awful life and awoke me from my nightmares! For that I will always be grateful to you all, especially Hiashi-sama, Haruko-san, Hinata-chan, Hanabi-chan, Yuki-san, Hizashi-san and Neji!" the blonde spoke with a smile bringing some female members to tears. The next moment, his expression took a nose dive to serious land. "This makes what I have to tell you next, bring an ache in my heart but I will not beat around the bush! I am … moving away from the compound to live on my own!"

The thirty or so people gathered there gasped in unison. The news was received in a fashion that said 'to hell with the code' as protests could be heard from nearly every member of the clan since they didn't want him to leave. Hanabi was hidden behind Hinata sobbing about losing her 'Oni-sama!'. Naruto was on the verge of crying himself but kept his cool and after a while he raised his arm, palm facing straight forward asking them to stop to which they immediately complied.

"I thank you once again for your kindness my friends… my family, but this is not up for discussion!" the blonde stated gravely.

The first one to ask the question on everyone's mind was Haruko. "Why do you want to do that Naruto-kun?"

The boy looked towards her and smiled kindly before turning back to the rest of the clan. "I want you to know that this decision was not influenced by any action you may have taken! If anything, it had made it even harder. There are many reasons for me to move but I will state the most important ones, the foremost being the fact that I cannot stand the fact that this clan is targeted because of me staying here by some narrow minded villagers and council members, the primary target being Hiashi-sama!"

"Nonsense!" Hiashi called out.

Naruto then scoffed and shook his head. "Come on Hiashi-sama, you know me better than that! You should realize that I already know how much influence you lost on the Administration Council since I began living here!" he shouted and the man tried stuttering an answer but failed. The closest thing he got to a decent one was along the lines that 'You shouldn't concern yourself with my position in the village.'

The blonde smiled but it turned out more like an innocent smirk. "That isn't the only thing me living here has damaged as Koaru-san can confirm as I'm sure he got tired of painting the outside walls to cover the graffiti that vandalized the outside of the compound walls!" he said smiling and looking towards the said branch member who blushed and turned his gaze away. "I'm sure that by now, all of you know what I am and what I contain! Before you say anything, let me tell you that the law still stands so you must keep silent about this for your own good, something the former Elder Clan Council could teach you!" Naruto declared making most branch members snicker. "Because of all of these and much more, I have come to the decisions that I have stated in the beginning!"

"But where will you move Naruto-kun?" Hizashi interrupted him.

Naruto then grinned. "I have recently come into possession of a 'small' fortune and have acquired the vacant compound two streets east of here!"

This statement brought many reactions from the people attending the meeting but most of them were a relief that he was still close. Hanabi especially nearly jumped for joy at the news.

Hiashi was the one who broke the silence. "Out of curiosity, how 'small' is the fortune?"

The blonde adopted the Cheshire grin again. "Weeeelll… Jijii said that it had and I quote 'five figures more than the village budget'!" he declared making the Hyuugas except Hinata pale and some of them to gag.

"T-That's more than all the council clans and members combined!" stuttered one Hyuuga from the back.

"I understand that this is all a bit much to take but it was bound to happen eventually, though it just happened sooner rather than later. I thank you all for coming and bid you all a good night. That is all! Oh I almost forgot! Should you ever want to visit me there, know that the compound is protected by a very powerful shield that will either paralyze or fling you across town should you try to force an entry! The only one who is exempt from this for now is Hinata-chan. Should I be inside the property, you can call me using a seal on the gate!" Naruto finalized the meeting and most of them left, a little saddened but understanding that it was to happen. The only ones who stayed back were the ones Naruto mentioned in his initial thank you speech and Isamu.

"Well, that's that!" Naruto sighed but was squeezed into an embrace by Haruko and Hanabi. After a couple of minutes and a cry for 'air' they let him go. He made a couple of Shadow Clones and told them to start packing.

"What happens now?" Hinata asked.

"Now… Hiashi-sama kicks me out!" Naruto stated.

"WHAT?" the remaining Hyuuga snapped.

"It's the best way to remove any remaining attention caused by me. We all know the truth but the 'demon-hunters' do not and deception is the best weapon we have against them." the blonde explained earning reluctant nods.

"Will you stay for dinner at least?" asked Haruko.

"Sure!" the boy chirped. "I guess I will have to get used to eating alone from now on." Naruto stated sadly.

"No you will not!" Yukihime declared.

"Wha?" the blonde puzzled.

Yuki gave him a smile before bowing to Hiashi.

"Hiashi-sama, I request your permission to move along with Naruto!"

Isamu then repeated her action requesting the same thing.

Hiashi smiled fatherly before turning to Naruto. "Do you wish to take them in Naruto?"

"Of course I want Yuki-san to come!" the boy smiled but then it turned into a mischievous grin. "And I guess I can't separate Isamu-san from his girlfriend." This made the two's faces red like tomatoes and look away from each other.

Haruko, Hinata and Hanabi looked between themselves and then at the duo who deepened their facial coloration. The trio then grinned from ear to ear making the lovers sweat rapidly.

"Then permission granted!" Hiashi chuckled.

"Yatta!"

That night there was a big feast which was Naruto's goodbye party that doubled as Isamu and Yuki's congratulations dinner. The celebrations could be heard all around the compound and it got especially lively when the blonde outdrank even the most seasoned Hyuuga members out cold.

In the morning, most of them were now asking if anybody got the rank of that jutsu that hit them in the head. Naruto had finished packing early on and, during the celebrations he informed the rest of the clan about the course of the events which were about to take place. Naturally, they weren't happy but as usual they agreed to keep silent and act their part. Sealing the last of his belongings in a scroll, Naruto turned to exit his room and was greeted by Hiashi and his family as well as the two love birds that were going to leave with him.

"Ready Naruto-sama?" Isamu asked.

The boy let out a sigh and nodded. "Let's get this act started."

Moving near the compound gates, Naruto looked at the Hyuuga head and took a deep breath. "I've had enough, you self-righteous asshole!" he yelled waking several members who until then were still passed out from last night.

Hiashi closed his eyes and, after steeling himself, opened them to show his practiced cold and angry gaze. "What did you call me brat?" he continued their game.

"You heard me limp-dick! I still don't know how Haruko-san kisses you! She must be using industrial-quality disinfectant after that!" the boy cringed and put his hands together apologetically while he kept shouting.

Hiashi gave him a reassuring look before returning to an even angrier appearance. "That's it! GET OUT AND STAY OUT! You are no longer welcome here!"

"Fine! Who would want to stay with you? I've had enough of your beatings to last a lifetime! Every day you rained blows on me like I was something not even worthy of being stepped on!" Naruto scoffed.

Outside the compound, people were already beginning to get the picture that those two were hoping to create. Inside, people were waking up and were joining the rest of the early birds a few steps away from Hiashi and Naruto and started sharing popcorn between each other.

"And you two!" Hiashi turned to Isamu and Yuki who smiled. "That goes the same for you! Get out and never return!"

"But…" they played their part.

"Enough! I said leave! Now!" Hiashi turned around and looked at his spectators who were silently pretending to applaud.

Naruto waved at them before leaving the grounds followed by the two branch members and a short distance away by Haruko, her two daughters, Hizashi and Neji. They reached Naruto's property and stopped outside the gate to wait for the others.

"Is the part about the shield true Naruto-sama?" Isamu asked.

"If you promise me that you will stop calling me 'sama' I will answer that!" Naruto growled.

Isamu looked at Yuki who nodded and smiled. "Very well Naruto-kun!"

"Look at it with your Byakugan!" the boy smiled.

They both did that and what they saw shocked them. The barrier looked like glass that had natural chakra flowing through it and numerous kanji of different sizes moved through it like fish in a lake. They half of them read 'stun' while the other 'protection'.

"WOW!" they both exclaimed.

"Cool right? Took me six months to design it but only a few minutes to create it. Right now it's on standby but if it detects hostile actions, it powers up and I wouldn't recommend looking at it like that since it has enough energy to repulse S-rank jutsus in the tens." Naruto said matter-of-factly and the duo nodded furiously.

"Good to know and it is very impressive." Haruko said as she joined them together with the rest of the Hyuuga who accompanied her.

"Shall we?" Naruto motioned for them to enter and unlocked the gate mentally as it was linked to the shield.

They made their way inside where they were stunned by the level of comfort. Hizashi and his son were pondering if they should move in with the boy. Haruko and Hanabi were thinking if they should bug their husband/father to redecorate their compound in a similar fashion. Naruto quickly made some tea for them and, after showing Yuki and Isamu to their respective rooms, sat down and enjoyed a peaceful time. That is until Naruto felt the telepathy seal activate.

"Sorry, somebody is trying to contact me," he told his guests and Hinata explained more while Naruto took to answering back.

'Yes?' he transmitted.

'Naruto is that you?' an elderly voice responded.

'Hey Jijii, I see that you figured out the 'contact' seal! Neat huh? Doesn't take any chakra from the user. A word of advice though, think, don't speak your words. People will think that you're crazy talking to a gate and calling it Naruto. Come inside, we are in the big house up ahead.' Naruto told Hiruzen as he mentally opened the gate.

'We? Also, nice trick with the gate.' said the old man.

'Come inside and find out. Also, thanks!'

Hiruzen then entered and made his way to the mansion and at the same time admiring the complex seals that covered the walls and the beautiful flower gardens. As he got closer to the house, he could hear a beautiful song playing on an instrument he could not identify. Cautiously so as to not disturb the artist, he made his way inside and found Naruto playing 'Tapion's theme' on a flute like instrument that was called an ocarina. After the song ended everybody present applauded which made the boy rub the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Hey Jijii!" the blonde chirped.

"Hello Naruto-kun!" the old man smiled but his heart ached for a reason only known to him.

"What's the matter?" Naruto saw through the man's kind appearance, noticing his worried gaze.

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" the Hokage chuckled but then changed his appearance to a more serious one "Naruto, we need to talk in private, you too Hinata." he said glancing at the boy's company.

The boy frowned as he adopted the same serious expression. "Understood. Let's go into the office area. It's far from finished but I added some permanent privacy seals so we should be fine."

He rose from his chair and bowed apologetically to his guests who nodded in understanding.

Inside the office all three of them took a seat on a small couch that was a little to the right of the main work desk.

"Naruto, Hinata, what I'm about to tell you now is an S-class secret. Under penalty of death you are not allowed to reveal this to anyone except your immediate family or, in Naruto's case, closest friends who are forbidden to reveal it period." Hiruzen ordered and they nodded, their curiosity being tickled.

"Know that Sasuke already had the same discussion with me and he said that he will follow your decisions but as his personal opinion he agreed to my proposition. Naruto, Hinata, I am giving you the opportunity to … join the ANBU as a special squad under the leadership of your sensei! He agrees that common Gennin missions are too restrictive for your squad's talents and after many considerations we came to this conclusion, since he wants to register you up for the upcoming Chuunin exams in four months. This of course doesn't mean that you will have the same positions as normal ANBU agents have but you will still be sent on some covert B-ranks and possible A-ranks." The old man explained.

"Now let me get this straight Jijii. You want us, rookie Gennin to join the most elite shinobi of the village and perform possibly dangerous assignments while keeping our identities a secret from everyone." Naruto questioned.

"And Sasuke-kun already agreed to this?" Hinata continued.

The Hokage nodded. "Now I know that it is a lot to take in so I am giving you some time to think about it."

"I have just one question Jijii." the blonde expressed looking at Hinata and pausing for the dramatic effect before returning to the old man and grinning ."Where do we sign up?"

Hiruzen had Anko style beady blinking eyes before they all broke into a chuckle. "I should have expected that!" the Kage said in between laughs.

*End Chapter*

A/N: Well I'm back but expect the fact that I will periodically take some time off to work on my other project LotL. Also, in the first part of the said project, at the end you can find a detailed description of squad seven's abilities.

Some character bio:

Hiashi Hyuuga

Height: 176.5 cm tall

Birthday: January 8

Weight and Age: 41-42

Blood type: B

Occupation: Apparent Leader of the Hyuuga Clan

Hobby: . playing Go and shoga which is a field of art that combines calligraphy and painting as well as training his daughters, nephew and Naruto.

Abilities: Juken and Byakugan Grand Master.

Personality

Seemingly cold enough to freeze ice, that is just the outside appearance. For his trusted inner circle he is a kind and fair leader, a loving father and a great friend. He would give his life for his daughters and is quick to jump to conclusions in anything that could jeopardize their wellbeing. He fears his wife just as much as he loves her (if not more).


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for.

Special thanks to **Princess-Serenity-Serena **for helping me by being the beta for this story and possibly others.

**Author notes: **

Time to answer some reviews:

dynomike88 read this from the last chapter _ 'about a mile ahead, which is quite a feat considering that the Byakugan at her age shouldn't have more than five hundred meters range.'_ (from when Kurenai was giving the report from the wave mission) and pointed out that I used imperial system (U.K or U.S.- mile) followed by the metric one (meters). I have to admit that I am from a country where we use metric as standard and have very little contact with the imperial. Though I tried to use the imperial one more since most people who read NotS are from the U.S. I am also prone to mistakes.  
Know that for me I use it more like approximations of the metric measurements like so: REMEMBER THAT THIS IS WHAT I USE FOR MY FIC.

1 inch = 2.5 cm

1 foot = 0.3 meters

1 mile = 1.6 km

1 pound = 0.5 kg

College6Jazz – Ah, nice to see that people didn't forget about the other legendary summoning scrolls but they won't be revealed until a little later. The bird one (though most people probably guessed what creature that was) will be revealed during the Chuunin exams finals before the invasion. The other one will be during the invasion.

Legionary Prime – If you want a story similar to Road to Ninja read my other fic called _Light of the Lost_ though right now it is a work in progress.

BlasterFaster – No the names for the dragons are not related to the Rage of Bahamut game (intentionally). They are taken from mythology more since Tiamat is a Babylonian goddess of chaos usually presented in the form of a sea serpent or dragon. Though my own version is more related to the Dungeons and Dragons version though she is neither good nor evil but more like a force of nature. Fafnir is taken from Norse mythology and was a dwarf that was so ill-natured and greedy that he turned into a dragon (symbol of greed), though the only similarity between the mythological one and my Fafnir is the name and nothing else.

Anybody who flames with 'The council wouldn't let Naruto make a fool of them!' or 'This is such bullshit!", I will answer with my middle finger straightened out of my fist and by blowing you a raspberry. This is my story! If you don't like it, well nobody is perfect. 

This chapter is a council bashing one.

**This chapter hasn't been BETA-ed.**

**Previously on NotS:**

"Now let me get this straight Jijii. You want us, rookie Gennin to join the most elite shinobi of the village and perform possibly dangerous assignments while keeping our identities a secret from everyone." Naruto questioned.

"And Sasuke-kun already agreed to this?" Hinata continued.

The Hokage nodded. "Now I know that it is a lot to take in so I am giving you some time to think about it."

"I have just one question Jijii." the blonde expressed looking at Hinata and pausing for the dramatic effect before returning to the old man and grinning ."Where do we sign up?"

Hiruzen had Anko style beady blinking eyes before they all broke into a chuckle. "I should have expected that!" the Kage said in between laughs.

**Main story:**

The people inside the mansion finished their respective discussions leaving only the blond together with Hiruzen to work out the details of the ANBU deal. After about an hour they finished the talks and Naruto offered to escort the man to the gate before keying him for the shield.

Once outside the walls they said their goodbyes and were about to part when an ANBU agent appeared.

"Hokage-sama, the Administration Council requests your presence for an out of schedule meeting in one hour. Uzumaki-san is to come as well."

Hiruzen sighed. Ever since Naruto pulled the chicken on him, he became more authoritative but he couldn't help think 'I'm too old for this shit!' He turned to the ANBU and nodded.

The said agent bowed and then Shunshined away. Hiruzen swayed his head from side to side in disbelief. He knew that only the civilian council had summoned the meeting as usual but the aged Kage couldn't stop himself from wondering what the fuck they wanted now.

"They probably saw the report concerning the recent mission. No doubt Danzo was the one who brought the attention to your former teammates and they just had to call the rest of the howler monkey pack. No offense Jijii." (A/N: Sarutobi has "Saru" in his name which means 'monkey'. He also has the monkey summon contract.)

The Hokage chuckled "None taken. You are probably right but you still can't help but wonder what goes on through their minds."

Naruto smirked "What else but power and money. They want as much as they can get of both. But concerning today's council gathering, they probably want to know about Haku and Meian-chan. And I'll bet my whole account that Danzo will go with the usual 'They (Haku & Naruto) must be trained properly so I will sacrifice my precious time to make sure of that!' bullshit if given the chance, which is: no way in hell. And concerning Meian-chan, well I guess it will be a free for all on the arguments as to why I shouldn't own such a powerful weapon."

Hiruzen sighed at how much sense the blond made "Indeed."

Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. Hiruzen turned to the blond and began sweating. The boy was grinning like a homicidal maniac "Let them try and get ready for a good show. I know every law of this village and country by heart, old or new. I just need you to declare from the beginning that the laws will be respected with no 'ifs and buts' as you are well within your rights to do so. I also have a few nasty surprises for them. Ku, ku, ku, ku!" rubbing his hands together.

"That I will." the Kage nodded.

"And remember, this village is a military dictatorship not a freakin' republic. Civilians are allowed to stay here only if they follow the rules. And the first and foremost rule is that the Hokage is the leader, the chief, the boss, the big honcho, the rule maker. If they don't like it they can piss-off to another place. The council, especially the civilian one, was formed to lessen your workload, not to take your place. It is neither a necessity nor an obligation, but a privilege. One that the Hokage, or the Daimyo are more than in tittle to cancel at a whim." Naruto encouraged the man.

The old Kage chuckled "If it were only that easy. The council has, in time it has 'served', gained political power that is not to be taken lightly."

"Like?" the boy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, for starters they have a lot of financial backing." the Hokage explained.

"You're kidding right? Remember my 'funds'?" Naruto smirked and Hiruzen mentally face-palmed himself.

"And they gained sufficient power to overrule me. They could lock me out of office." Hiruzen swayed his head.

"According to regulation 74/SE*, only the Shinobi or the High councils can call something like that and only if the Jounin majority is with them, and they aren't. Not to mention that they would have to pass this by the Daimyo's consideration. Those fat civilian pigs can't do jack-shit about it! Sorry for the language." Naruto pushed his opinion.

"And that is the final problem Naruto. Most of them have the Daimyo's backing. It wou-"

The boy interrupted smirking "Not as much as you and I."

"What?" asked the surprised Sarutobi.

"I know the man personally. Don't ask me how or why, it will be revealed at a later time. All you must know is that the man cares most for five things: money, honor and most importantly his friends, family and country. The first one I secured it since I have enough of it to bury the civilian council alive and it wouldn't even scratch my wallet. The second and third also secured since… well you saw how Shinji-san reacts when she sees me right?" Naruto scratched the back of his head while smiling gaining an equal expression from the man who nodded, realizing that the boy didn't lie when he said that he knew the ruling family.

"And the fifth is your part. You are a war hero and a powerful man. Who do you think that the Daimyo will listen to? Those whining pricks or to the man known as the Professor or better yet Shinobi no Kami (God of Shinobi), the man who kept his country safe since before he was born hmm?"

Hiruzen had to feel a little embarrassed. It had been a while since somebody had called him that and to be honest it felt good. That is he had to do that after picking his jaw off the floor considering how much the speech made sense.

"Ha-ha! I haven't heard that title in a long time. Twenty years I think." the old man blushed.

Naruto sighed "Face it Jijii, the only thing those bastards can do now is up your paperwork load but I fixed that little 'problem' for you years ago"

"I get it Naruto but I'm just too old for these messes." Hiruzen cried anime tears.

Naruto smiled sadly before a 200W LED appeared above his head. "Speaking of twenty years…" he said while grabbing Hiruzen's left hand with his right and placing the thumb and the middle fingers on the man's forehead as wide apart as he could.

"Nani? (What?)" was all that the Hokage could ask before a Ranpu aura began to appear around both of them.

Naruto began channeling a lot of Ranpu chakra, directing it to all of the aged Kage's cells. Just as he felt he had done that, he flared even more of it as the light around them grew in intensity and then the boy opened his mouth "Aaaahhhh… 'Ranpu: Wakagaeri no Jutsu!'" (Light Release: Rejuvenation Technique) with the luminosity reaching a blinding peak before receding like it never existed.

The blond was panting a little before the surprised Kage.

"Naruto, what happened? What did you do?" Hiruzen asked.

Naruto panted for ten seconds more before his reserves were brought to a more manageable amount by Kurama.

"Whew, that was tiring as hell!" Naruto snickered. "To answer your questions Jijii, that was a technique I created after I read some theories on ageing. It is said that the main cause of ageing related effects are caused by a build-up of, for the lack of a better term, useless cells in a body that the said organism can't expel. They take up place inside the body that newer, healthy cells could use. Thus body functions cease to work properly and we feel what is known as getting old. Now… I used my Ranpu and Iryo-nin (medic) abilities to create a jutsu that would 'seek and destroy' those cells and also vitalize healthy tissue thus improving your system." explained the Medic-mode blond.

Hiruzen looked at him like he was from a different planet causing the boy to sweat-drop. "In simple terms, this jutsu has made you 25 to 35 years younger in body. I couldn't de-wrinkle your skin since that is a different body function but that could be easily fixed with a couple of hot-spring visits and a cream made of a couple of herbs to stimulate the production of collagen and such- oops! I almost started med-rambling again." Naruto confessed with a hand to the back of his head and his tongue out.

The old man looked as if he found the next five editions of Icha Icha. Could it really be true? Could he actually be younger? He had to be because he felt like a million ryo!

Naruto noticed this and smirked "So, how do you feel?"

Sarutobi took a moment or two to clear his head. He felt like jumping around like a hyperactive kid on a sugar overdose but years of experience and wisdom kept his composure intact. He returned the boy's smirk with one of his own and answered in a smooth fashion but laced with power and confidence "Perfect."

The blond smiled and closed his eyes before kneeling on one leg with his a fist on the ground "Long live the protector of the Will of Fire, the Sandaime Hokage and the one and only _Shinobi no Kami_!" he stated barely higher than a whisper in a show of respect.

Hiruzen's smirk remained but it was also accompanied by grandfatherly eyes as he set a hand on the boy's head.

Forty-five minutes later…

Hiruzen walked into the dreaded council room. Dreaded because every time the old man finished dealing with them he needed so many aspirins that he was afraid he might die from an overdose. But this time it was different. No. It was the same, the same as it was years ago when his power was looked at with awe and envy. The oh so nosy civilian drones who were busy talking amongst themselves turned to greet the 'old' man with their usual whines but this time something made their words stick to their throats and refuse to come out.

Sarutobi Hiruzen entered without hesitation. His stance showed no more weaknesses and his presence seemed to slow down time itself. The people inside the room were left bug-eyed and their jaws unhinged. Not a word was shared anymore, not a breath was taken without difficulty. It was like they were afraid that their heartbeats were an annoyance to the man as that sound was the only thing that was heard in slow motion: 'Bum-bum'… 'Bum-bum'. Each heart cycle was shared by Hiruzen's steps. His being spelled power and his face was terrifying.

But the scariest things were his eyes. The 'old' man didn't even bother to spare them a glance. He walked at a normal pace but to the dilated senses of even the untrained civilian council it felt like an eternity as his gaze was only on his destination at the top-most throne-like chair. Only three people in the room recognized that stare. They were the ones occupying the seats closest to the one mentioned earlier. Of course they were none other than Homura, Koharu and Danzo. It was the piercing, steel-hard gaze of the man who survived three great Shinobi Wars, at the end of the first becoming the Third Fire Shadow. It was something that many enemies saw as their last visage in the mortal plane. And for them it subconsciously spelled only one thing 'We're fucked!'

As the Hokage took his seat everyone let loose a breath they didn't even realize that they had been holding. A flinch followed as Hiruzen let his eyes escape the shadow of the Hokage's hat and rolled around, scanning, analyzing the council men and women. He then let loose a breath of his own when he saw that the Shinobi Council had barely half of the seats occupied as Hiashi Hyuuga, Nara Shikaku, Mikoto Uchiha and Shibi Aburame were missing, no doubt being announced as late as possible. Even though technically he was now younger his thoughts still couldn't release themselves from the classic 'I'm too old for this shit!' train, before sinking his gaze inside the shadows once more.

One of the civilian councilmen was the first to break the silence by clearing his throat. "Since the council has gathered we should commence-"

"Denied!" Hiruzen answered, his volume barely higher than normal but reverberating with incredible authority. "The council has not gathered. Half of the Shinobi Council has still to arrive and the time has not expired. Even if it will expire, we shall wait!"

The present Shinobi Council members smirked as the Civilian Council started shifting and whispering between themselves.

"Please be reasonable Hokage-sama! I'm sure that everybody in this room can use the time in more productive ways." the same member tried to argue.

The Hokage then pointed his piercing gaze at the man who felt like he was becoming smaller and smaller as the moments passed by, underneath the powerful eyes of Sandaime until he was nothing more than a speck of dust looking at a mountain. "Then maybe we should cancel this meeting right here, right now Shitake-san (A/N: Mushroom. Couldn't resist! Read bottom A/N for description.). Like you said, I have better things to do than to listen to pointless arguments and to try to placate them. If not I suggest that you and the rest of this council follow my commands in silence unless you want to share something vital or I explicitly say otherwise."

The civilians started whispering between themselves, some even going higher in the volume. That is until they felt something powerful but not KI. No. It was similar to a bottled-up hurricane slowly rising in power, ready to explode. It was Hiruzen. "I said **in silence**!" he commanded again with more authority than ever.

The room became deathly quiet once again. How couldn't it? Even a pin dropping on the floor would not dare share a sound in fear of the mighty Kage's tone.

Before the time limit was exceeded the other Shinobi Council members arrived, some of them panting a little that showed that they were in a hurry to get here. The old man let them get comfortable before clearing his throat.

"Very well, now we can proceed with the meeting!"

Shitake followed the man's example and coughed lightly. "Understood. We shall begin with some concerning issues regarding Gennin squad seven's mission to Nami no Kuni. We have called Uzumaki Naruto to the proceedings but it appears that he has defied us. I su-"

Before the man could even finish his sentences he felt strangled by a pulse of KI coming from Hiruzen who had an absolutely annoyed look on his face. "First of all Shitake-san, you speak of defiance when clearly you are no better than your own description."

"N-nani?" said the mushroom-man.

"You will stand up when addressing me with any form of request or issue using the proper title and suffix!" Hiruzen ordered clearly daring the man to fight back but his dare was unmet since Shitake's body automatically responded to the authority behind the Kage's words and shot to a vertical position.

"M-my apologies Hokage-sama!" Shitake bowed deeply gaining a nod from the village ruler.

The same ruler then explained "Uzumaki Naruto is waiting patiently outside the meeting room to be summoned inside as is proper etiquette. Something a lot of you seem to have forgotten or simply ignored." He stared daggers in the civilian council members who gulped deeply. "ANBU, call in Naruto!"

The guard agent bowed and then proceeded to follow the order. In less than ten seconds he returned with Naruto who was now sporting his newest attire that was composed of a dark orange long coat with three tails and a snake like pattern on the right side, reinforced black leather jacket with a palm leaf pattern, a very dark blue silk shirt with a pleated silk satin stock of the same color. Over his legs he wore a loose dark blue reinforced leather pair of pants that had silk satin underneath for comfort and dark brown riding boots that included shin guards and had straps on the highest most points. The toe region was made of an extremely durable but light material. The soles were the highest quality ninja material with special chakra channeling materials. All the clothes already sported Naruto's standard seal-set (temperature regulation, repair, color change & clean, shielding) but that part was hidden from sight. (I based 90% on Virgil's clothing from 'Devil May Cry' with different colors).

The way Naruto entered showed defiance but also respect and power. He didn't so much as flinch at the sight of the council, not even sparing a glance at the sneering civilians as he stood in the designated place but he did bow to the Hokage and nodded a greeting to the Shinobi Councilors who returned the gesture.

Shitake took the stand once again "Uzumaki Naruto, we of the council have called you here to ask you some questions regarding your recent mission to the Land of Waves."

Naruto turned his head towards the councilor in a questioning fashion but before the man could speak again Naruto raised his hand signaling him to stop or wait. The blond then turned to the Hokage with a raised eyebrow and nodded a message.

Hiruzen then took over the discussion "Before the Council begins questioning one of my shinobi, I should tell you that during this and future procedures under my rule will be conducted following each and every law of Konoha with no exceptions or second chances. If you are unsure of the consequences of your actions then I recommend that you do not follow through with them! Are there any questions?" he spoke emphasizing each underlined word with a Kage-level blast of KI. Each member shook his head from side to side rapidly. "Good! Proceed."

"As I was saying, we of the council would like to question you about some… interesting and a few disturbing parts in your mission report. Understood Uzumaki?" Shitake sneered as he asked.

Naruto in turned glared at him so hard it almost made him soil his pants but the boy quickly turned to the rest of the council.

"Greetings Honored Council! I must ask the Shinobi Council, minus the High Council members to prolong the meeting after we have finished whatever business you have with me. Before I answer the question or those that follow, I must inform you that a good part of the answers are composed of classified information and thus I would be obliged to refuse to give them unless ordered to by my direct superiors." Naruto confessed and got smiles from the Shinobi Council including the Hokage and minus the Elder Council while the rest merely cringe-like sneered.

"We are yo-"

"No councilor Haruno, you are not my superior. In this room there are only three… bodies that can order me. They being Hokage-sama, the Jounin Commander Shikaku Nara-san and the entire Shinobi Council, the later only through a vote of majority as stipulated in article no. 564/NE*. Quite frankly, by the same rules, only they are allowed to question me as well. Please keep that in mind." the boy explained while smirking, earning a growl from the woman that could make the Kyuubi jealous.

The Hokage chuckled inwardly (as did the rest of the clan heads) before speaking again "Naruto is correct councilor however I trust all my shinobi with their judgment concerning the need to know protocol about their missions so I am allowing you the right to question him." Hiruzen explained and the greedy pigs smirked "However he still retains the right to refuse an answer should he deem it classified unless ordered to by me and the rest of the people mentioned earlier." and down came their smirks, crashing into the wall.

"That is… reasonable Hokage-sama." Shitake cursed inwardly. "Uzumaki, how accurate would you describe your mission report."

"About ninety-five percent accurate. The rest are highly classified details that are only for the Hokage to know about." the boy confessed earning raised eyebrows. "Also if I may ask, what happened to the Demon Brothers? Last time I saw them, they were pretty 'pissed'." the blond said with a smirk earning a few snickers from the shinobi side.

"I will tell you about them after the meeting Naruto." Hiruzen chuckled at the boy's choice of words.

"Hai. I would like to know their fate since my teammates and fellow shinobi were the ones who changed it, although it's their fault for hiding in such an obvious fashion. Geez, they would have had better chance of hiding in a 'puddle of piss'." Naruto stated with an emphasis on the last words earning louder chuckles from the shinobi side.

"Could we leave the urination puns and get back to our meeting objective?" Shitake asked the council and they all nodded. "Well then, we would like to ask you about Haku Yuki-san. Is it true that he possesses the Hyoton Kekkei-Genkai?" he questioned the 'brat' as the members of both sides of the council started whispering between themselves. Danzo was practically salivating.

"Normally councilor I would have full right to refuse to answer such a question since I was not in command of the mission. It should have been addressed to either Kakashi Hatake or Kurenai Yuhi. However, yes, it is true. He is the only known surviving member of the Yuki clan that was nearly wiped out in Kiri during the Bloodline Purge." Naruto sighed explaining before looking into the eyes of the civilian members and Danzo's and seeing their lust for power and their greed. He frowned "I know that look councilors and forget it! Haku is a political refugee even though he has Shinobi training and as such he is neither a prisoner nor does he have any allegiance to Konoha. Therefore he falls outside your power-hungry jurisdiction."

If looks could kill Naruto would be cold, cut and buried twelve feet under from the civilian's glares.

This time the boy smirked "And in case some shady people are listening to my words and plotting something behind the Hokage's back, let me warn you that the instant Haku is harmed or forced into anything, the Hokage and his shinobi will rain down vengeance upon you! Know the saying 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'? Well let me tell you 'hell hath no fury like an angry Hokage and a pissed-off Jinchuriki'! That goes for the lot of you power hungry backstabbing pack of howler monkeys." he said to the civilian side but lowering his head and narrowing his sight on Danzo who had the decency to look surprised.

"How dare you!" Haruno's hypersonic voice blasted off again with their water glasses braking from the high pitch wail. Everybody else in the room cringed and prayed that their eardrums did not rupture. "Apologize this instant, brat!" she kept on yelling with the shinobi thinking of killing her or at least sealing her vocal cords on charges of extreme phonic (noise) pollution.

Naruto on the other hand remained impassive like he was not even interested in her.

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME DE-!" she nearly slipped but Naruto got pissed and interrupted her but not before cracking a few windows and shaking the room with her voice at full power. The weakest members in the room were banging their heads on the table to lessen the pain inside their skulls.

"Yeah I heard you, ya' freakin' Banshee Queen! Me and everybody in Hi no Kuni! In fact I wouldn't be surprised if you scared Suna half to death. Sheesh! Pipe down will ya! Freakin' siren. Also, watch it! You nearly slipped concerning a certain law punishable by death." Naruto smirked and she boiled.

"HOW DARE Y-!" she wailed again but this time was stopped by the combined KI of all the shinobi members in the room and surprisingly a few civilians. Not surprisingly though, she passed out instantly, foaming at the mouth.

The rest of the council sighed in relief. Councilor Okumura* was the first resume speaking to the blond "Now your words were clearly disrespectful towards us but we will let it slide considering that councilor Haruno's actions were … very disturbing." gaining snickers from the Shinobi side. "Resuming our discussion and moving on. Another problem we want to question you about concerns a certain sword you used during the… gruesome execution of Gato's army. We request details about its functions and powers."

Naruto looked at him like he dared him to step out of line "Request denied because of previously stated reasons."

"You can't and will not deny us brat!" Shitake growled but sunk into his seat when he felt the Hokage's attention weigh him down. Above the village leader a huge executioner like figure was sharpening its axe on a rotating whetstone. The message above it read 'I warned you!'.

"I can and will deny you, you overgrown mushroom!" the blond growled back.

"How dare you! You will show proper respect to me brat!" Shitake slammed his hands on the table and rose up challenging the 'demon-brat' but was blasted into his chair by a pulse of KI that made his head and body jerk back feeling like he had been punched hard.

"I will show you respect when you have earned it paper-pusher! You have no right to order me around. I already warned you at the beginning but you refused to listen clearly showing how arrogant you and your pack of whining pansies have grown! I bet you haven't even punched someone in your life yet here you are thinking that you are above those who bleed and die so that you can live that worthless life of yours in safety and wealth. Remember this because this is your final warning: I am a Shinobi of Konoha! A military agent under the rule of the Hokage. The only thing you can order around is your bank account and civilian clerks, understand?" Naruto warned flaring his chakra until it was visible and then relaxing earning a terrified nod. Homura and Koharu were boiling inside and were about to blow their top but were beaten to the starting line by someone else.

Shibi Aburame who was watching the scene in mild amusement broke the ice by being the first one to speak for the shinobi council. "Your words contain much logic Uzumaki-san, but I must say I have many curious thoughts concerning the weapon. Would you be so kind as to share, so long as it is nothing concerning to the village's safety of course."

Naruto turned to the man and smiled "Please Aburame-san, call me Naruto since I have a good connection with your son (friendship in normal language)!" the boy asked and the man nodded, smiling ever so lightly. "And of course I would be willing to share with anyone who …" he let it float in the air turning to the civilians "… knows how to ask politely." and noticed them sneer like they stepped on something nasty.

The blond then made a grabbing motion in open air and just as he was squeezed his fingers into a fist Meian materialized herself, fading into existence in the boy's hand. Everybody in the room except the Hokage and Hiashi stared at the beautiful blade.

"Meian-chan's abilities are mostly linked to emotions and are represented by a color. The more powerful they are, the more powerful the result and the more intense the color. I will keep secret these abilities as it is my shinobi right, but know that Hokage-sama has full information concerning them." the boy explained more to the Shinobi council and noticed Bozo, I mean Danzo frown slightly. After all he didn't like anything kept secret from him. "Also she has two more abilities that are not related to emotions at all. They are represented by the colors black and white. These I am willing to share information about. When the blade turns black a powerful ability is unlocked. It coats the edge with chakra and compresses it so much that it becomes able to cut through the fourth dimension. An example of this would be to take a picture and cut it with a normal sharp knife but in this case the picture is everything in front of the blade tip. By all standards it is completely unstoppable… however, for every second the ability is activated the user must use three times as much chakra as Hokage-sama had in his prime. The 'cut' lingers for a maximum of three seconds and anything that moves into it is also damaged." he said earning gasps from the more emotional members of the council. "The second ability I must admit that I have yet to unlock its secrets." Naruto lied making some members raise their eyebrows. Truthfully he really didn't know what it did or how to power it but he did know that it made the Tentoukirite ability look like small change.

"May I ask wh-" said Shibi before he was interrupted.

"Hand over the blade boy!" Homura barked out but with composure worthy of his council seat.

Naruto turned to him with a light frown and a raised eyebrow "I beg your pardon?"

The man narrowed his eyes on the blond and spoke again "I said hand over the sword! Such a weapon clearly has no place in the hands of a Gennin!" he barked louder and Hiruzen who was beside him frowned and sighed.

Naruto growled internally and tried desperately to convince himself not to slice his head off his shoulders.

'**Calm down kit! His time will definitely come!**' Kurama tried to calm him down sensing his host's emotions.

It worked and Naruto took a deep breath before responding emotionlessly "I'm afraid that there are three problems with your claim."

"Such as?" Koharu intervened.

"One being that, since you are retired from active duty you have no right to order me to relinquish my weapon without the council's vote of majority or the Hokage's approval without being accused of treason against Konoha for weakening it's shinobi forces! Actually you have no authority whatsoever! You only have the right to advise Hokage-sama concerning certain decisions but absolutely no right to intervene in official business!" the boy explained and by now you could see the steam coming out of their ears. "Another problem is that Meian-chan is a sentient blade that chooses it's wielder for life. She will not cut anything in anybody else's hands." After these words Danzo began tightening his teeth so much that you could hear them crack.

"And finally Meian is soul-bound to me! Meaning it is a part of my very soul and cannot be separated anymore even if I desired it so. She has become a sort of Kekkei-Genkai for me and my descendants. They will each be able to summon her after and only if they gain her approval. Of course that doesn't mean that they will each have a sword if they win her favor but it will be more like taking turns." Naruto shot a toothy smirk at Homura who was mentally cursing everything he could think of. Danzo saw this as an opportunity but chose to refrain for now and wait for the civilians to finalize their claims.

"Anything else you wish to ask?" Naruto questioned the councilors.

Okumura nodded then glared at the boy "There one final matter. I have been informed that you recently came into possession of a rather considerably large sum of money. We wish to question you about its source after which we will decide if it should be confiscated or not since there is some suspicion of illegal business considering the fact that you have no known background for it to be an inheritance." the smug pig grinned.

Naruto looked at him like he wanted to make barbeque out of this fat ass but Kurama convinced him not to, telling him that even a Bijuu would probably get food poisoning from that rotten tub of lard.

"There is nothing to discuss!" Naruto sighed with his eyes closed as the eyes of the civilians grew bloodshot with greed thinking that they have won. "I do wish to tell you that touching one ryo without my approval would lead to your immediate banishment for thievery and charged a heavy fine, not to mention the compensation to the damaged party (Naruto). The reason I have nothing to say to you is because of the fact that I am still a military operative and such my business and actions are classified. Should you poke your nose in them, not only will it mean treason which is rewarded with a death sentence, but also would be an insult to the Fire Daimyo as all operations in this village are directly linked to him. You can file for declassification but it must be approved by both the current Jounin Commander Shikaku Nara-san and Intelligence Division Head Inoichi Yamanaka-san. If not then you can bypass this by requesting it directly from the Hokage." the blond grinned smugly and crossed his arms but a 300W light bulb appeared above his head "Oh and I almost forgot. How, pray tell, did you know about my funds?"

"I am the manager of the bank." the fat pig cringed as he was already angry at his previous loss to the 'demon'.

'Got'cha!' the boy thought "I see. Did everyone else hear that?" he asked and gained a full deck of nods.

Shitake was the first to puzzle "What does it matter to you if we heard it?"

The boy now adorned his prankster grin. Although he didn't prank anybody in a long time that didn't mean he lost his touch. "Quite simple Mushroom…" he answered and the man was getting red with anger "… that information is strictly confidential. By all rights I should press charges against 'Piggybank' over there for revealing it or taking it directly to the owner of the bank directly. Either way, should I choose any, he would be fucked sideways by a five inch thick spiked dildo, if you get my point." said the blond making a very realistic impression of a troll-face meme.

"Also, concerning all future matters I have a little word of advice: **Don't fuck with me!**" He warned them with a demonic voice and red slit eyes while flaring his KI at ten percent intensity making the shinobi reach for their kunai or swords and some of the civilians froze in their seats while others fainted on the spot.

But of course one of them said the magic word "D-DEMON!" and he didn't even know when he died as Hiruzen struck him in the head with a kunai while Naruto separated his chest from his ass spraying blood all over the rest.

"ANBU!" Shitake yelled and two agents came inside the room "Kill… Kill him!" he said pointing at the boy who stood near the corpse with a cool expression. The two agents nodded between themselves and rushed the boy before jumping and aiming down with their tanto (short swords) drawn looking to kebab him. Naruto had by now activated Soujin Seishin and was viewing them in slow motion, sporting a murderous grin that would make Anko proud.

The rest of the civilian council was in absolute chaos and were running around like headless chickens. But they were halted a split second later by the combined aura and KI of the Hokage.

"**ENOUGH! ANBU STAND DOWN!**" he shouted an order came too late as the agents were but two feet away from the blond and couldn't redirect their blades in time. An adrenaline rush came over Hiruzen as he watched how the ANBU operatives were slowly inching closer to his grandson like figure who in turn was … smiling like it was Xmas?

When the two would be blond killers were but a foot away from the boy Naruto deepened his grin into an all-out smile and whispered "Boido Nami!*" (Void Wave!) and he was instantly surrounded by what appeared to be a paper-thin glass bubble that quickly glossed a bit before expanding outwards like the shockwave from an explosion before dissipating about five feet away and tearing and pushing everything away from Naruto. The air blast that followed made everyone in the room duck for cover as the dust and debris flew like shrapnel in every direction resulting in some minor cuts and bruises on the unfortunate civilian councilors that were in close range. It wasn't anything serious since most of it was pulverized by the technique itself.

When the dust settled the Hokage found the blond standing straight in the middle of a small crater in the concrete floor and the two ANBU were on the other side of the room looking worse for wear but by some miracle they were still breathing. Truthfully the damage was much less than the dramatic effects let on as it consisted only of two blown windows and the crater with the rest of the room now being a little dusty but intact.

Everybody was silent as they were looking at the boy who had a very pleased appearance. His expression soon changed into a serious one as he balled his left fist near his waist looking like he was holding something cylindrical before whipping his right arm around and finally pretending to sheath an imaginary sword samurai-style whispering 'Booya" before imitating the final 'clink'.

"C-criminal!" shouted one idio- I mean civilian before more ANBU, Homura and Koharu surrounded Naruto who raised an eyebrow before showing a cocky smirk while the rest of them were once again in panic.

"I said **ENOUGH!**" authoritatively thundered one Sarutobi Hiruzen who sported a very large tick-mark and made them all freeze in their spots. "ANBU stand down! That goes for you too as well Homura, Koharu!" the Kage ordered.

"B-But Hiruzen-" Homura tried to protest.

"Stand. down., that's an order!" he met the protests with the same look he had when he entered the room.

"H-Hai!" Koharu stuttered and pushed Homura back to his seat and the ANBU retreated leaving one… pouting Naruto.

"Return to your seats and stop acting like sheltered princesses! This is a shinobi village and death is at every corner! Get used to it or get lost, but this meeting is not over yet! ANBU, take Kuma and Tora to the infirmary! Hopefully the medics will patch them up so they can stand trial. Oh and someone clean that mess up!" the Hokage ordered the rest of them pointing to the two down agents before moving to the two separate parts of the former councilor.

"WHAT? What would they stand trial for?" Shitake looked like the world turned upside down.

Hiruzen frowned further and then explained "For the unprovoked attack on a loyal Konoha shinobi."

Shitake now looked like he was sick "Hokage-sama you can't be serious! This _thing_ killed Kotoroke*! _It_ should be exe-"

"Silence!" Hiruzen ordered the man with so much power behind his words that the mushroom-man fell on his rear. "I have made it perfectly clear at the beginning of the meeting that we shall follow all laws, no exceptions! Kotoroke-san in his final moments broke the law which I have not canceled to this day. A law concerning an S-class secret punishable by death! And should you have had any other physical training besides pushing papers on my desk…" the old man growled speaking the last words "… you would have seen the kunai thrown by me that hit at the same time as Naruto sliced him. And you will stop referring to Naruto like that or you will be joining Kotoroke-san." the old man pointed at the severed torso in the corner of the room showing the kunai embedded perfectly in the middle of the man's forehead. The civilians soon remembered that it was a bloody body and fought desperately to keep their lunch where it belonged, some of them losing the battle.

"B-But! He still seriously injured those ANBU!" Piggybank tried to protest as well but sunk under the Kage's daring expression.

"They only have themselves to blame. The ANBU are my shinobi, operating directly under me, and not the council, especially the Civilian Council! I never gave them that order so they will be tried for the previously stated charges!" Hiruzen proclaimed greatly emphasizing each underlined word. "Do you question my judgment councilor?" The old man's expression was one that screamed 'Go ahead! I dare you!'.

The man moved his head from side to side so fast that it looked like a blur before seating himself while another team of ANBU removed Kotoroke's remains and used a Suiton to clean the blood.

By now the Hokage felt like a father dealing with a lot of spoilt children. Arrogant, selfish, greedy, spoilt rotten children. He didn't believe how many words he had to emphasize today to get through their thick skulls. The old man was extremely thankful to Naruto for his earlier gift otherwise he would've been feeling very, very tired now.

As they tried to resume a somewhat normal meeting again, but before they could take some deep breaths to calm down Naruto stepped forward and bowed directly to Hiruzen "Hokage-sama I must apologize since the earlier… disturbance was partially my fault as well. I was hasty and because of that, my actions have put some strain on the procedures. Had I waited, I would not have interfered with Kotoroke-san's… execution. For that and the damage caused by my jutsu I will provide adequate compensation as stated within the Laws and Regulations of Konohagakure no Sato."

Hiruzen smirked and nodded.

Naruto then turned to the rest of the council "Now then honored council, is there any other issue you wish to discuss?"

Most of them shook their heads in a no fashion but Danzo saw this as his cue to talk "Yes there is one more issue to be discussed. Uzumaki-san, you said that the sword became a kekkei-genkai, right?"

Naruto puzzled his motives but answered affirmatively.

Danzo smirked "Then I suppose that you are looking to establish your clan, am I right?"

This earned a lot of whispers and quite a few glares but none choose to scream out their opinions considering the … show they had to take part earlier.

Naruto closed his eyes and smirked "First of all, may I know your name councilor? I am not one for titles since more could share the same one and would lead to misunderstandings."

"Danzo Shimura. You may refer to me as Danzo-san or Shimura-san." the Root leader played cool, hoping to strike a good trusting relation with the blond.

"Thank you Shimura-san! As for your question, I regretfully have to dismiss them as I am not looking to 'establish' my clan." Naruto answered calmly even though inside he was questioning about the mummy-man's agenda. Mikoto was watching the procedures silently. She was one of the three that didn't put up their guard during the previous event, the others being Hiruzen and Hiashi. Inside she was thinking 'What in fuck's name you up to Danzo?'

Danzo then embraced a serious expression "It is unfortunate indeed but such a great power must not be lost in battle so I am proposing to that Uzumaki Naruto be sent to the reserves and compelled to produce offspring to vote."

Naruto's expression deepened but he just barely kept his cool. The room was once again in a mild form of chaos as the debate began, no one noticing Hiashi and the Hokage's somewhat murderous faces.

"Excuse me honored council." Naruto tried to intervene but they paid him no attention. "Excuse me!" he shouted but nothing. A tick mark appeared on his brow as he let loose some chakra pressure (think like spirit pressure (reiatsu if you will) from bleach) backed up by a little KI. It felt like a small earthquake inside each councilor and they quickly stopped talking and turned their attention to him. "Thank you! Now, before you reach any decision I must remind you again of my earlier advice." he said turning his face to one stubborn blood stain that refused to come off even with the Suiton used earlier before turning back to them. "Also let me remind the women on the council that approving this motion would mean that I would have to entertain relations with multiple women turning them into, for lack of better terms, degraded 'breeding stocks' or 'cum dumps'..." he said letting it sink in. And sink in it did as the said women began to think again on their decisions. "As for the men, let's just say that retiring me from active duty would have to pass through the Hokage first so you must wait for his decision as stated in art. 145/SE. Also keep in mind that should this motion be approved I will be deeply upset. Now I know you don't really care for the last part but maybe you will care for what will happen if you piss-off a Bijuu container. Hiashi-sama, if you will?"

Hiashi looked at him with hatred. It was all a ruse of course but none the less it did its job perfectly. Most of the villagers now looked at the Hyuuga with even greater awe once they heard that they kicked the demon out. The vandalizing and anything else of their property came to an abrupt end. Now the man got up and bowed slightly before taking the mike so to speak. "When that happens there is a chance that the seal might crack and break thus releasing the creature on the spot. Also, Bijuu are immortal constructs of living condensed chakra. Should the host die, the creature will reform itself in time in the exact location of the container's death." he said before reassuming his place on the seat.

That did it as the council was at a loss for words and, it seemed, blood as they had a very pale complexion. Well the idiots and the clans who knew nothing of Naruto did. Even Shikaku looked alert.

Naruto felt like following Kurama's example and laugh his ass off like the Bijuu was doing inside the boy right now but once again kept his composure. "Would you tell me the results of the vote now or later?" Naruto smirked. Needless to say, in less than a minute the motion was denied nearly unanimously. Danzo gripped his cane-sword so hard it left imprints on the handle.

The blond kept his smirk "Thank you for your understanding. Now is there anything else as I would like to present my request to the Shinobi Council as I said so at the beginning of the meeting."

The civilians grumbled but confirmed that there was nothing left to discuss.

Naruto nodded and then turned to the shinobi "Thank you for your time honored council. I will take no more of your time than it is needed so I will be brief. The matter which I want to present to you is the reestablishment of the Uzumaki clan right here in Konoha."

The hall erupted in talk and different reactions could be read on the faces of everyone present.

"Denied! You said that you wouldn't establish any clan!" yelled Shitake.

Naruto turned to him with an ice-cold glare "I request that you hold your words in your mind councilor-san as this is no matter concerning you but the shinobi. As for what I said earlier, I remind you that I said I will not 'establish' my own clan. If you ever read something other than your checkbook you would have probably found out that the Uzumaki were a major clan during the Shodaime and Nidaime eras and were the leading clan in Uzushiogakure. They were even related to the Senju and the Uchiha albeit distantly, and although the part about the Uchiha is barely mentioned anywhere, it is free knowledge to anyone who visits the library that even Hashirama Senju-sama's wife was Uzumaki Mito-sama. The red swirl on the back of most of Konoha issued uniforms is in fact a simplified version of the Uzushio village symbol and was implemented as a sign of goodwill between the two villages. Actually, if you think about it, that would at least make a relative of the two Hokage."

This left Shitake and several civilians gaping like dying fish but Naruto was far from finished "The Uzumaki were very knowledgeable in the art of fūinjutsu. This reputation earned them renown and fear worldwide, which eventually led to the destruction of Uzushiogakure, and the rest of the Land of Whirlpools during the era of Shinobi World Wars. And their or should I say, our Kekkei-Genkai was just as renown and it was the reason Uzushio was known as the village of longevity since the clan possessed incredible life-force and longevity and this gives us a relatively accelerated healing factor, as it takes at least three-times less for an Uzumaki to heal from the same wounds a different shinobi would get and a very dense and potent chakra. Some Uzumaki were known to be able to manifest this chakra in the form of constructs. A good example of longevity is Mito Uzumaki-sama, who lived from before the founding of Konoha, to well into the term of the Third Hokage's reign." Naruto told them before taking out a scroll. "I have already begun to rediscover the old sealing art as well as improving it. Inside this scroll are simple yet effective seals that could prove useful to the village like personal shield seals and an improved power absorption array for the Konoha power-plant, as well as sleep-seals, chakra-seals and higher capacity storage-seals. I also included counters for the battle-ready seals." the blond finished by tossing the scroll to the Hokage who took a quick look at it before smiling and nodding. "Of course those are minor seal projects of mine. I kept the more powerful ones for myself and am presenting them as clan secret techniques."

Danzo once again took the stand before the Hokage's teammates could blow a fuse "Then you must detail them to the council so we can analyze and promote them as clan techniques if we are to approve your clan."

Naruto smirked as he turned to the man "Nice try Shimura-san but then they wouldn't be secret techniques. If I were to present them then I think it would only be fair that every clan here to present their technique's strengths and weaknesses, right?" he said as the clan-heads turned away from him as if they were hiding "I thought so. Anyway, you misunderstood your position again. I am not asking you to approve of me reforming my clan since you would have no say in that, I was asking that you approve of registering the clan here in Konoha."

Danzo cringed so hard you could hear his teeth cracking but kept his cool "I see. I apologize for my mistake." he said without emotion or honesty.

Naruto nodded in acceptance towards the man.

"But there are still two problems with your request." Homura intervened "First of all you need a proper residence for your clan as I am sure that you can't restore a clan in a small apartment."

The blond smirked again "I have already addressed that problem. Today I have acquired a compound by purchasing it from Sasuke Uchiha two streets away from the Hyuuga compound. Cost me an arm and a leg but it was worth it. Here is a copy of the deed." Naruto tossed a deed scroll to the man who, after reading it, growled but nodded.

In the meantime Naruto saw how a couple of civilian councilmen whispered something to their respective attendants who nodded before making a discreet exit.

Homura spoke again "The second problem would be that every clan has to send a representative on the council and thus must not be involved in normal peace-time missions. That would mean that either you must retire from active duty and assume your position as council-member."

Naruto smiled before closing his eyes and swaying his head to each side "What is it with you people retiring me from active duty. Never mind. I already have a technique that can create a clone that can report its memories to me once dispelled."

Homura frowned and smirked lightly "I'm afraid Kage Bunshin are not accepted here since they cannot function outside a limiting range from the user."

Naruto raised an eyebrow "Who said anything about Shadow Clones. What I meant is that I have recently created a clone technique that can create a clone with a solid biological body that can bleed. It works by creating a normal blank-minded bio-clone of my body and imprinting a Kage Bunshin 'soul' so to speak that I can call back with a mental command and it will transfer the memories to me. And because it is a living body it can regenerate chakra and suffer wounds like any normal being. The only downfall is that it has only 15 percent of my power. I call it Body Kage Bunshin and before you ask, it will be a clan technique so, no I will not teach it to anyone that I don't want."

Hiruzen was slowly turning blue from holding his breath to keep from laughing his ass off. He took a quick but deep breath before turning his attention to the shinobi side. "I think that all the angles of his request have been sorted out. Now I request that you begin the voting."

"A new clan would raise Konoha's outside prestige. I vote for approval!" said Hiashi.

"I don't see any faults in the logic of the request. I vote for approval!" nodded Shibi.

"Troublesome, I vote for approval." grumbled you know who.

"I see no problem with it. I vote for approval!" smirked Inoichi

"Choji said you raise hell every chance you got. However he didn't see how sneaky you can be and this could be a welcome asset in a shinobi village. I vote for approval!" chuckled Chouza.

"My son hated your guts." Tsume growled but then smiled "But after he came back from Wave he became a lot more serious, hard-working even and is on his way to becoming a real pack-leader. If you have that effect on people who hate you I would be a fool to refuse your claim. I vote for approval!"

"If my husband were here he would have refused you in less than a second." frowned Mikoto but smiled kindly after "But he is not and such I am the clan leader now and I know full well what you and the Uzumaki are capable of. I vote for approval."

The Hokage then intervened "Since the Senju and Kurama clan representatives are not present, their votes are counted as neutral abstains." He paused to smile. "As I am the Hokage as well as the Sarutobi clan representative my word holds the power of two votes and I vote for approval! That means that we have nine votes for approval, two abstains and no denials. The request has been approved so the Uzumaki will be now formally recognized as a Konoha clan. Congratulations Naruto! You may now attend the meetings, possess the right to vote and any other perks and responsibilities of a council clan."

"Thank you Hokage-sama and honored Shinobi Council." Naruto answered and was met with applause from the said part of the people present.

Just then Shitake's attendant rushed in the room and gracefully ran to his boss, whispering something in his ear.

"Please hold on a minute!" the man shouted. All heads turned to him. "I have received a report from my attendant that people are getting trapped inside your compound boy!" Shitake pointed at the blond accusingly.

Naruto popped a vein. "First of all councilor-san, you will refer to me as Uzumaki-san or Uzumaki-sama. Second of all you will remove your finger from my face before I remove your head from your shoulders for insulting a clan-head!" Naruto growled with his red slit eyes. Shitake immediately backed away. "My compound is protected by a very powerful barrier that can do many things. Right now it is set to 'stun'. That means that once they step inside my property the barrier seal them away in an energetic shell that is much more powerful than any jutsu that most humans can do. They are lucky that I didn't set it to 'repel' mode otherwise they would be smears on the side of Iwa's mountains. Because of that I would like to ask you how your attendant knew about them and what were the trapped ones doing inside my home, hmm?"

The man shifted uncomfortably. Naruto on the other hand would have none of it. "The compound holds many clan secrets and such it is well within my rights to protect it since it means protecting Konoha from letting its enemies get those secrets. So if you will not answer those questions you will be accused of treason for aiding possible enemy spies. I'm sure Ibiki Morino would love to meet you, not to mention Anko Mitarashi. Both of them have would love to have you for dinner, literally. Speaking of them I haven't visited Miki the Snake Summon in a while. I wonder if she still has the habit of biting victims, oh sorry, 'prisoners' in points that spread the venom slowly. I heard that people would rather have red-hot kunai stuck inside their fingernails than that." The boy tapped his chin innocently.

"I-I…" Shitake stuttered as he sweated profusely.

"Well? Spit it out!" Naruto pushed just like the T&I specialists taught him.

The man began to mumble sentences that couldn't be understood.

The blond teen seal-lessly created a shadow clone "Go get Ibiki and Anko!" Naruto ordered his clone. It was a tactic to scare the man as normally ANBU would take him to the T&I station not the other way around.

"Wait! I sent them there!" Shitake broke.

"Sent who, where?" Naruto smirked.

"I sent those men inside your compound!" the man frightfully admitted.

"For what reason?" Hiruzen growled as his KI soared.

"T-To v-vandalize and rob the place." Shitake confessed, nearly fainting when the KI increased.

Naruto's face kept a smug grin "Who are they?"

"A couple of Chuunin that needed extra money and hate you. My attendant knows their names."

"I see." nodded the boy "In that case, according to the law they are from this moment on they are accused of attempted robbery, attempted breaking an entry, and will be court-martialed for insubordination and any other infringements since they are shinobi and should listen to the orders of their superiors and not to civilians." Naruto inhaled since he ran out of breath "As for you, I am willing to drop the charges if you present a formal apology for your behavior towards me and will cover the costs of my earlier … 'disturbances'. Otherwise you will get a very 'intimate date' with Anko-nee-san."

"I agree! I agree! I will apologize and cover the costs!" Shitake bowed on his hands and knees.

"Acceptable." Naruto turned on his heal. "Should I turn those Chuunin to your forces Hokage-sama or can I play with them a little?" Naruto smiled like Anko sending a shiver down the shinobi's spines.

Hiruzen flashed a smirk mirroring Naruto's own "Knock yourself out!" making the rest of the council pale.

"Thank you! Things are going to change from here on, that I can promise you!" the blond shouted out to everyone.

*End Chapter*

SE= Shodaime era.

NE= Nidaime era.

SFE= Sandaime first era.

YE= Yondaime era.

SSE= Sandaime second era.

Shitake-san: Member of the civilian council he is in charge of the Utilities: Electricity, water, waste and sewage. He is a tall and thin man with a short nose and cylindrical-like head. His hair is a bowl-cut but it is a little spiky so it looks like an umbrella giving the man a total appearance of a… you guessed it: mushroom. Also 'shiitake' is a type of Japanese mushroom. Because of this and his appearance he was bullied when he was young and was called 'Mushroom' so now he hates anyone who calls him that with a vengeance.

Okumura-san: Member of the civilian council and a large merchant family. General manager of the biggest bank in Hi no Kuni, he is short, round, fat and nearly bald. His nose is also pointed up giving a good view of his nostrils and making him look like a pig. He is the biggest coward of all the council members.

Kotoroke: Cannon fodder councilor. ^_*

Some afterthought:

I noticed that most authors think of the **Shunshin no Jutsu** as a short to medium range teleportation jutsu. I feel it is my duty to inform the authors and future authors that read this fic that **IT IS NOT A TELEPORTATION JUTSU** of any kind. The user simply energizes his body with chakra allowing for extreme high speed movement but it is very difficult to truly master for battle since it mostly forces linear motion to occur. To change direction during usage of such technique subjects the body to as much G's or G-force to force blood flow to change direction in the body causing loss of consciousness in the best case scenario. That is why we don't have a lot of Shunshin no Shisui in Konoha.

Also, as far as I can tell, Namikaze was never a clan. Namikaze Minato was an orphan or his parents are unknown. Only the Uzumaki was a clan and it has been wiped out. Seriously Senju, Uzumaki and Uchiha have been wiped in this show with only an heir or two present.

**TECHNIQUE DETAILS : BOIDO NAMI**

'Boido Nami' or 'Void Wave' is a Jikuukan (time-space) Jutsu based off the Shinra Tensei. I wanted my Naruto to have something similar to this awesome jutsu but I didn't want it to be a cheap copy. Void Wave is based on the principle of space-time distortions.  
By using two opposite direction Senkaipo Jutsus three dimensional space is stretched outside of the time dimension and instantly 'implodes' or crashes back. This creates a distortion (the initial glossy bubble) that later propagates like a wave away from the user stretching the space caught (together with everything in it) in the shockwave and moving it similar to how a surfer does a normal wave but at incredible speeds and because of this the victim is imbued with tremendous kinetic energy as he, she or it is hit. It is not the wave that does the most damage but the energy it imbues anything it 'touches'.  
The wave travels at the speed of light making it impossible to avoid unless you can move faster than light (*cough* teleport * cough). To the outside it looks like a very weak camera flash combined with a soap bubble. Once the technique is over any unlucky creature that got caught in the 'blast' will most likely feel incredible pain since every cell in their body was stretched with some weaker ones being ripped apart. It is most damaging if the wave hits you with its direction of propagation perpendicular to your spine since that is how the most 'stretching' occurs.  
After the wave passes the stretched space rebounds back to its original state creating a weaker secondary 'stretch' in the opposite direction causing even more damage to whatever is caught by the field.

The closest example to describe the technique would be to take a bed sheet and flick it. The resulting 'wave' describes the motion but in 3D. Matter is caught by the base of the wave and not only is it forced to move forward (riding the wave) but since the speed of travel is so great the wave also passes 'underneath' it and tears it apart similar to how when an asteroid approaches a black hole it is stretched because the gravity is greater on the side closer to the event horizon than the part that is away from it.

The visible effects occur because light is bent by the stretched space-time field.

Called Void Wave because you literally want to occupy the two 'voids' with the same 'space' at the same 'instant' (instant since time is irrelevant when talking about 3D-only space)

Range depends on the power supplied to the Senkaipo Jutsus.

Weakness: None except another B.N. of the same intensity can cancel it. Also may have trouble against gravity or dimensional (or space-time) related jutsu.

Danger: If the Senkaipos are not balanced properly then the user will either be torn apart or the shockwave will propagate inwardly crushing the user into an unstable black hole that will dissipate instantly. (Naruto lost about 8693 clones until he finally got the right feel for it).

When the range exceeds 100 feet then it changes its name to Boido Tsunami (Grand Void Wave).

Classification: S-rank Kinjutsu because of the power of this Jutsu, the dangers of using it and the chakra control and cost required. (Naruto can use it for a maximum 17 times using only his own reserves compared to the 50+ Senkaipo)


	12. Chapter 11- Naruto-sensei!

**A/N Sorry it took so long to get back on the story. Had some issues to deal with regarding my collage. (I'm a last year so it's pretty hectic). Also this chapter has not been beta'd as I was eager to put it up as soon as I finished it.**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for._

_Special thanks to __**Princess-Serenity-Serena **__for helping me by being the beta for this story and possibly others._

**Previously on NotS:**

Naruto turned on his heal. "Should I turn those Chuunin to your forces Hokage-sama or can I play with them a little?" Naruto smiled like Anko sending a shiver down the shinobi's spines.

Hiruzen flashed a smirk mirroring Naruto's own "Knock yourself out!" making the rest of the council pale.

"Thank you! Things are going to change from here on, that I can promise you!" the blond shouted out to everyone.

**Main Story:**

"But those intruders can wait for a while since we have some serious issues to discuss." the whiskered-blond scoffed.

"Such as?" asked Hiruzen.

"Some things that I was planning to present to the council after I reformed my clan, but since it happened sooner than planned I will bring them up now. Please sit down since we still have time before the official time ends." Naruto said softly while moving in position to his seat but awaiting the others and the Hokage to sit. They soon did so albeit some of them grumbling.

"You may begin!" nodded Hiruzen.

"Thank you! _Honored_ Council I kept you here because of some … troublesome issues that came to thought." Naruto said while shooting them a glance, noticing Shikaku rolling his eyes. This brought a small smile to his face. "To keep it short the issues are: the village security is horrendous, the ninja requalification exams are deplorably subpar and the academy is the worst of all."

"What do you mean Na…, I mean Uzumaki-san?" Shikaku pondered.

"I noticed that Nara-san and I extend the same words as I offered to Aburame-san. The same for the Inuzuka, Uchiha, Akimichi and Yamanaka clans… although I don't know if your daughter's voice-attack on my eardrums during academy is considered assault Yamanaka-san. I think that she and Sakura Haruno would have reinvented the definition of 'stealth' during those years. I mean they could've functioned as Konoha's invasion alarm." Naruto rubbed his ear with his pinky earning a few snickers and a 'shut-up' look from Inoichi. "Anyway, back to the main subject. As I was saying: the village's security is absolutely subpar." he said while taking out a simple scroll and unfolding it "Chuunin guards that can be easily fooled by simple henges, easily accessible ANBU barracks, no defense from the Hokage mountain side, easily climbable walls that surround the village, the tree-line stretches until the base of those walls giving protection against projectiles and jutsu to the enemy. Basic security checks for incoming and outgoing people. All in all, the only thing that keeps us in one piece is our shinobi numbers and our position as number one in the world. But that can be easily taken away from us if say Kumo would decide to attack us. Considering the faults we have we wouldn't last a siege. It would be a massacre. Even a smaller village could outdo us if they would manage to sneak in during an event like the October 10 (Kyuubi defeat) festival." Naruto said sighing.

"Hmm… I agree with some of what you said but 'easily accessible ANBU barracks'? That is where the T&I is located and the prisoner ward. It is by far the most secure place in the village. Even more secure than the Hokage tower. How is it unguarded?" asked Hiruzen.

Naruto smirked "Remember that time when the ANBU had pink armor and cloaks?"

The council blinked in surprise. "You did that?" asked Inoichi.

"Snuck inside the laundry using the air ducts and put paint powder in the detergent boxes." the spiky-blond said with his hands behind his head towards a fuming Inoichi.

"Y-YOU!" the platinum-blond banged his hands against the table.

Naruto took a more serious expression "Yes me! You were lucky that it was me. If it had been a missing Nin he could have easily sabotaged your clothes with poison, exploding tags and whatnot." he said and the man opened his eyes wide before taking a thinking position.

The boy sighed before resuming his words "I have a few propositions to fix these issues but they need reviewing. We will better discuss this in a later meeting. Thankfully our village's intelligence-networks are the best in the world so we should still get an early warning if a major mobilization is needed. Now about the second issue: the village's shinobi should be required to partake in a very thorough psychological examination every year. Before you ask me why it is to reduce the number of missing Nin that emerge from our village. While we have the most powerful shinobi we also have the most powerful missing Nin and that is a serious cause of concern. Orochimaru, Itachi, Madara are prime examples of this. This needs to stop!" Naruto enforced his last words before resuming "This will also be discussed in the future as the most important issue right now is the academy."

By now the Civilian Council was just breaking out of their stupor but were still having trouble voicing their opinions. Thankfully Choza asked their question for them "What is wrong with the academy?"

Naruto smirked "Nothing is wrong with it."

Tsume raised an eyebrow "But you said there is an important issue regarding it!"

"Like I said nothing is wrong with it, if you consider a 66% rate of failure acceptable. I mean take a look at this year's 'crop'. Teams one to six failed and only seven to ten passed. All of those who passed come from families with military background, even Sakura Haruno who comes from a family of retired shinobi, ain't that right Councilor Haruno?" the boy peeked from his document and noticed the scowling but nodding woman. "And those who have only the basic academy training and pass the test have a 97 percent chance of dying on their first mission outside the village, should they encounter a situation that exceeds facing more than a poorly armed and trained bandit."

Shitake slapped the table "Nonsense! The academy was founded by the Niidaime Hokage Tobirama Senju. It has given us good shinobi since then! You can't dare to say that…"

"I dare Mushroom!" Naruto responded with a glare "The teachings of the academy have fallen drastically! The only notable teams that have survived the wars wholly are Sandaime-sama's and InoChikaCho combo. Most of the rest have at least a member or sensei that have died or have been incapacitated. Actually even Niidaime-sama fell to the enemy in the Second Ninja World War." the boy snapped at the man while Hiruzen and surprisingly Danzo showed a bit of sadness and remorse. Naruto sighed "Look I'm not saying the academy is faulty, it's the academics that are presented. It is too focused on mental academics and too little on shinobi training. I mean take Iruka Umino, the guy is a superb shinobi all-rounder and a born sensei but he puts everyone to sleep before he can actually get to something useful in his lectures." Naruto said with a smile and most of the Shinobi Council and the Hokage chuckled a bit. "There are also many facts that are painfully wrong placed like separation of male and female shinobi training and sparring."

"That was necessary as there is no way the girls can compete with guys!" Haruno belched and a certain cat-masked ANBU guard growled silently.

Naruto looked at her surprised before blowing into a crazy-like laugh "Ahahaha! That's a good one councilor. Do you know that one with three shinobi and a kunai… wait you're serious? Then tell me, why are the teams formed usually with one girl and two guys. If your logic was valid then the female member would jeopardize the other's safety. Not only that, do you think that on missions that are not conducted inside the village the enemy would care if they were girls or not? But considering that your statement is a step short of stupid I will tell you this: the reason the girls can't usually compete with the guys is because of a disease." the blond crossed his hands and looked deathly serious while everybody leaned in a curious fashion. "That disease is called 'Acute Fangirl Syndrome'" Naruto flashed his foxy grin and everybody was blown back by this statement "It manifests in 98 percent of the female academy students and it's symptoms are: dieting, a phobia of everything that comes close to dirt, prolonged time spent in front of a mirror dolling-up for their 'crush'." the boy said the last words signaling quotation marks with his fingers "The results of this disease is the lack of muscle and subsequently stamina required by decent shinobi, refusal to get 'down-and-dirty' or in normal language, to train which leads to more complications." he finished in a 'matter-of-factly' way.

"That is not even the tip of the ice-jutsu: academy taijutsu is absolutely useless against specialized styles. Actually nothing short of a bandit would fall to those moves. Yes it is a building block for the students to advance into a preferable style but when they graduate they are expected to hold their own. The worrisome factor is the near or absolute lack of useful shinobi material like international politics, teambuilding, assassination tactics, espionage tactics, seduction, interrogation methods and the list goes on. Of those dandelions you call students nine out of ten would freeze during their first kill leaving them and their team in a vulnerable situation. You leave too much to their Jounin sensei to correct when you could mold the proverbial iron while it's hot."

"Wait a minute!" Shitake yelled "Those so called classed would turn them into mindless killing machines!"

"Are you serious councilor?" Naruto asked with a puzzled face "Those are standard shinobi clan teaching and you don't see them as mindless."

"Is that true?" Haruno asked the rest of the shinobi council.

"Indeed." answered Hiashi

"Those are necessary skills for a ninja." answered Shibi "Our clans teach them these as soon as they are able to walk. Not only that, the environment nurtures this type of development."

Naruto continued "Like it or not councilor the academy does not produce heroes, it produces assassins with a conscious, even Yondaime-sama. We may love him as a hero but think of Iwa. He practically butchered them and they hate him with a passion. We say that he was a great man but they only see the hundreds of graves that they had to dig in his wake. THAT is the world that we live in and this is a shinobi village. Once you put on this headband…" Naruto used his thumb to point at his own headband "…you swear your life to this job. You become the instrument of salvation for your home and the avatar of destruction to your enemies and only the one with the strongest will survives. And I aim to burn the Will of Fire into the souls of the younger generation." the blond said rising from his seat and the shinobi side nodded in approval. Naruto closed his eyes and continued "I know you don't trust me, scratch that, you down right resent my existence. The feeling is mutual I assure you but let me make some things clear to you: I could destroy this village anytime I desire." the boy opened his eyes and the civilians took a mental step back , burying themselves into the couching of their seats. Naruto pointed to the crater left by his Void Wave "I didn't even break a sweat. Imagine one a thousand times more powerful than that and you will know my limit." he said and they lost color. The blond sighed again and turned to Hiruzen "Hokage-sama will you assist me in a small demonstration?"

Hiruzen for his part looked puzzled for a while but then smiled and nodded before joining the boy who had made his way to the other end of the table. There Naruto unrolled a small scroll.

"This is a standard low powered sealing scroll. Think about it as the polar opposite to the Yondaime's 'Hakke no Fūin Shiki' which is one of the most powerful seals that have ever existed. It can contain any normal inanimate objects." Naruto said before taking out a kunai and grabbing an ordinary piece of paper and letting it fall on the said knife. The paper split in two as it reached the edge of the kunai. "As you can see this kunai is the real deal." he continued before placing it above the unrolled scroll and with a half-seal, the kunai disappeared and new marks appeared on the scroll. Naruto then rolled up the scroll and held it up. "The kunai has been sealed inside the scroll." he then threw it to Shikaku "Please verify."

Shikaku muttered troublesome before he unsealed the kunai and then resealed it. "Verified." the man said tossing the scroll back to Naruto. By now everybody was curious about the purpose of this. Naruto smirked before proceeding to slash at the Hokage's body with the scroll. It turns out that Sarutobi Hiruzen was … ticklish. The boy then switched to poking the old man with the scroll. When the aged Kage laughed harder Naruto threw the scroll at his head and as expected it bounced off after an audible 'bonk'.

"I'll admit that I haven't laughed that hard in a while but was there any other reason for this exhibition Naruto?" Hiruzen said between chuckles since the scroll just deflected off his ever present armor helmet.

"That's strange..." Naruto said while analyzing the scroll "I mean I sealed the kunai into the scroll shouldn't that turn the scroll into the kunai?" the boy asked the Council who were starting to get the gist of it. "I mean if a Shinigami enforced seal developed by the greatest of all Seal Masters would turn a boy into a demon then shouldn't a cheap store-bought seal scroll become the kunai when I sealed it? Right councilors?"

Naruto then did a one eighty and started walking towards his seat and was cursing himself for not having his camera on him. The council's faces were priceless.

After a few moments of chuckling Hiruzen once again turned to speak "I think that we should conclude our meeting here. Any objections?" he asked the council but they were still petrified for different reasons. "Then this meeting is adjourned!"

Later that day …

Hiruzen was enjoying a pleasant evening with his surrogate grandson. He puffed from his pipe as his clones handled the not-so-dreaded-anymore paperwork. Naruto was chuckling a bit about how the man took his advice to heart about the clones.

"Now…" the man began "… would you mind telling me what you have in mind for the academy?"

Naruto smirked "Told you, I am going to shovel the Will of Fire into our future shinobi or die trying and that's a promise!"

Hiruzen smiled "But how?"

"With a little help from you of course." the blond answered.

"My help?"

"Yes…" the boy answered "… I need you to make me an academy instructor." Naruto answered seriously.

"But will you be able to manage it together with your other 'assignments'?" the Hokage asked referring to his normal shinobi activities as well as his ANBU duties.

"There will always be a Body Clone on standby to fill in for me when I will be 'indisposed'. They may have only 10 percent of my power but that is more than enough to handle a standard Jounin. I don't think that academy students will be any trouble for it. And I will take over from time to time."

"So be it…" Hiruzen nodded and wrote the permission slip "Give this to Iruka Umino when you go to the academy. While you are there he will be your assistant. He may be a Chuunin and you a Gennin but this is not wartime."

"Thank you Jijii!" Naruto smiled and then flashed out of the office after taking the document with him.

Sarutobi chuckled a bit before turning to the Yondaime's portrait and scowling "You damn idiot…" he began softly "Why didn't you let me take your place? You would have been so damn proud of him, her as well. So stubborn that you make mules seem like obedient children, that's what you both were…" he 'accused' the picture "Guess it runs in the family?" he pondered a bit before shrugging and taking out his porn. "I should have Jiraya return to the village again. Maybe this time Naruto will…" before he could finish his words he shuddered at the memory.

Underneath Konoha…

"The Jinchuriki is getting more and more insolent." said the female member of the covert meeting.

"Indeed, _it_ is getting out of control." confirmed her former teammate and fellow elder. "We should do something about this, if we still want to have some influence in the council. Hiruzen trusts it more than he does us and that is something that should not be for a weapon. Do you have any suggestions Danzo?"

The mummy stood there silent still locked in thinking since he left the council chamber.

"Homura, Koharu…" he began and they stood in attention "While I agree with your opinions, you are to leave young Uzumaki alone." he said softly but with a lot of authority.

"But…" Koharu began but Danzo raised his one visible arm.

"I understand your positions but so far … the kid has proven more of an asset than a threat. What he said about … sensei and the others is true." he expressed and the others dropped their shoulders in sadness thinking about the second Hokage "And let's not forget Homura, the_ Jinchuriki_ is smarter and more powerful than his age dictates. We would do best not to antagonize him for now. I will keep a closer eye on him but you are not to stand in his way, am I clear?"

They both nodded.

"Actually, I am also curious about his plans for the younger generation. So far Uzumaki has proven that he values this village with all his heart and will die protecting it. Don't misunderstand me, I will fight for this village until my last breath left my body but it will eventually happen when we will die. If he truly loves this village I will let him have his way and choose somebody else to stay in the shadows that the _root_ lives in. However should the opportunity present itself we will not hesitate to strike, do you agree?

Once again they both confirmed.

With Naruto…

Our favorite blond Senkaipo'd right outside of Iruka's classroom (considering the fact that it was in the same building as the Hokage office it would seem like it was pointless to do so but it's still cool). He was still in his coat and vest attire so he looked pretty imposing. He focused a bit to judge the student's level in the class and found it to be average. Only a few were worth more than words. He shrugged and knocked on the door before entering.

When they saw him the male student body gasped at how cool he looked and the girls had hearts in their eyes.

Scanning the classroom he found someone that he didn't expect… Konohamaru Sarutobi, the old-man's grandson who looked equally stunned.

"Boss!" the kid yelled.

"Hey Konohamaru!" Naruto responded back with a smile that had many girls faint. He still remembered the day he met the squirt.

*FLASHBACK*

Our hero was talking with the Sandaime in his office right after he took his registration photo when Maru entered the office with a shuriken in hand aiming for the Kage and screaming about defeating him. But after three steps he tripped on his exaggeratedly long scarf. He was about to fall on his face when Naruto appeared out of nowhere and caught him.

"You okay squirt?" the blond asked.

Maru looked at him with curious eyes before becoming hostile "HEY! What's the big deal with you?"

"Huh?" Naruto answered.

"Fess-up! You tripped me to act like a hero!" Maru screamed.

"Why would I do that?" asked Naruto who was starting to get a little irritated.

Just then a man with Mobius-style round sunglasses entered the room "Hey you! Unhand the Hokage's honorable grandson!" the man screamed.

Naruto noticed that Maru's expressions seemed to sadden when the man referred to him like that.

"Yeah! There's your reason mister hero! You just want to get it good with my granddad!"

The blond looked at him surprised before breaking out in a light laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Maru, now thinking that Naruto was making fun of him.

"It's funny because your best lie is that I needed to 'get it good' with Jijii. For your information I have such a relation with him that I am practically one blood test away from being your big brother squirt." Naruto answered with tears in his eyes from laughing before setting Maru on his own feet.

Brushing himself off the kid growled "Stop calling me squirt!"

"Nope!" Naruto smiled "Because that's what you are! You are a squirt, a _gaki_ plain and simple. You charge in here with a shuriken in hand and aim it at your loving grandfather for some selfish reasons. Don't think I didn't see how you cringed when four-eyes here called you 'honorable grandson'. Let me guess, you hate that and the fact that you can't climb out of Jijii's shadow…"

Maru's eyes widened in surprise.

Naruto smirked and continued "And now you want his job so that others can see you for that and not for your grandfather's job, a squirt's reasons." Now the blond's expression turned serious "And when things go sour you blame somebody else for your own incompetence, just like a brat. Let me ask you, what would you truly fight for? If it's for recognition then you will forever be a gaki in my eyes, not the '_honorable gaki_' just selfish scum. Find the true answer to that question deep within your heart and _earn_ my respect." the Gennin explained and released the paralysis seal that kept Ebisu quiet and still before heading towards the door. However he stopped midway "Oh and I almost forgot, only cowards and idiots act like heroes…" Naruto said looking over his shoulder before lazily throwing Maru's shuriken (which he removed stealthily from his hand) in front of his feet "…but only true heroes act! For what? Well that's what you have to find the answer to… Bye squirt!" he waved before teleporting without a visual effect out of the room.

Ebisu was too shaken up to react but Maru's thoughts were 'This guy's different…"

Later that very same day, Naruto was walking towards his apartment since he just came from the hospital where Mamoru-sensei gave him his Medical License: First Class certificate. He was walking past a wooden fence when he noticed someone trying to hide behind an image of the same edifice only that it was perpendicular to the design.

"You're holding the curtain wrong squirt, come out!" he ordered.

Maru stepped out of his hiding place and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Ehehe, sorry 'bout that boss!"

"Boss?" the blond looked at him curious.

"Yeah, I thought about what you said but I just couldn't get a decent answer so I thought that maybe following you I would get it eventually. So you are my Aniki (Boss/Big brother) now!" Maru answered "Also, can you teach me anything useful? Ebisu keeps making me read stuff and do physical training but he barely taught me how to use chakra and chakra control but he refuses to teach me any jutsu." the boy mumbled.

"Have you ever thought that maybe they are truly useful squirt?" Naruto crossed his hands.

"What do you mean boss?" asked a baffled Konohamaru.

Naruto sighed "Look, the basics are the most important thing to a shinobi. Sure you can have cool jutsu that make things go boom but to truly master them you have to know the basics. I for one only know about ten or so techniques but because of my mastery over them, well let's just put it this way, if Jijii and I were to fight each other seriously, I'm not sure which of us would survive."

Maru's eyes became big as plates. "Really?" the boy asked.

The blond smiled and walked to him. He put a hand on his shoulder and Hiraishined to the training ground of team 7. The poor kid puked his lunch from the experience.

"What was that?!" asked a startled and somewhat queasy Maru.

"That squirt was the Hiraishin no Jutsu, the jutsu that made the fourth famous in the war."

The boy now had stars in his eyes. "Teach me! Teach me! Teach me!" he jumped up and down.

Naruto smirked and took out a scroll "Sure!" He unrolled it above Maru and unsealed its contents. A pile of books about the same height as Naruto buried poor Maru under it.

Digging himself out of the pile the boy gasped and looked angrily at our hero but before he had a chance to shout Naruto intervened.

"Those books are all about the basics of Fuuinjutsu, Chakra Control and my notes about Jikuukan Ninjutsu. Read them all and then come find me and I'll give you the advanced portion which is three times more. Also you have to practice what those books say. After that I will show you how to perform this technique."

"Whaaat?" Maru practically screamed "Why can't you just show me how to do the technique without them?"

"Basics." Answered Naruto with a serious face "If you don't know what is written in those books and you try to perform this technique without them the best case would be that your head would end up at your intended destination and your ass would appear on Jijii's desk, at the same time."

That was all that was needed to make the boy pale.

"Understand now squirt? The more powerful the Jutsu the more complicated it usually is, and the more risk it has to the user or the more work is needed to use it, usually both. Take one of the village's most powerful shinobi, Kakashi Hatake my sensei. He created an A-class Raiton Jab Jutsu but if you use it recklessly you can lose your arm… or your life since it's very draining. Not only that but it also requires a lot of speed and good perception so hence this is also the basics area." Naruto explained.

Maru was locked in thinking.

"Then did you practice them too boss?"

"I have nearly a thousand years of practice squirt. Besides that even walking is practice for me."

"A THOUSAND YEARS?" yelled a skeptical Konohamaru.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…" began Naruto "It's a very dangerous Kinjutsu that can create a physical clone that can train in mental tasks like chakra control and calligraphy in your place. So if you create a clone and practice with it you have twice the practice time."

"It is dangerous because you need to have enough chakra to power the clone and your body or you could die. It's a Jounin level jutsu." continued a clone who was created seal-lessly by Naruto who then poofed out of existence.

"I can make a thousand of them and still train all day." finished Naruto.

"Whoa!" Maru managed to say.

Naruto then smiled "But I won't be stingy. I'll actually teach you something useful and relatively safe…" he said before resealing the books "Tree-climbing with no hands."

"No hands? How?" Maru asked.

"How do most shinobi do cool things?" asked Naruto.

"Chakra?" the boy answered like he had a revelation.

"Exactly, now watch this!" Naruto continued before focusing some Ranpu chakra to his feet and making it glow intense blue to make it visible before mixing it with normal chakra. He then casually walked up the tree. "Now if you focus too little chakra you will slip off the tree…" Naruto reduced the flow by a small fraction and began skidding gently on the bark before correcting the flow again. "Too much and you will blast off the tree…" he did so and was propelled off it before doing a flip and landing like a cat. Looking back at Maru he continued "You have to find the right balance to keep yourself on. It's harder than it looks so don't underestimate it. Also most sensei would tell you to run up the tree and mark your top position. I say that is too costly and dangerous. Start out slow at first. Only try to stick one foot to the tree and after you think that it's good disconnect your foot and try it with the other. After that try to gently walk on it. Don't try to see how high you go but how long you can stay stuck to it and how much you have to focus. If you can do it while say throwing a ball in the air and trying to catch it then you have mastered it. This exercise, besides its obvious usefulness, can also make your chakra pools grow and make you be able to do 'cooler' jutsu easier."

"Wow!" exclaimed Maru taking his boss's words to heart. However the next second Naruto teleported in front of him and looked in his eyes.

"However, don't burn yourself out as that can be seriously dangerous. If you feel yourself out of breath then take a break. Do I make myself clear squirt?" Naruto ordered with a face that was the combination of Anko and Ibiki and a very light dose of KI which seriously scared the crap out of Maru who nodded furiously. "Good! Well what are you waiting for, an invitation? Get a move on!" the blond yelled and the boy took to the nearest tree.

Three hours later, a lot of slipups and a few pointers here and there, Maru was walking on the tree with little difficulty.

Naruto picked up a fruit from a nearby tree "Hey squirt! Catch!"

And so he did without slipping or paying attention to the fact that he was fifteen feet off the ground. But it soon hit him "Hey boss, I did it!" and walked down the tree a little exhausted but happy none the less.

"Great job squirt!" Naruto smiled and the kid beamed with pride.

Just then Ebisu shunshined in the picture "What the?" the man scowled "What are you doing honorable grandson? Consorting with trash like him would only lead to your detriment!" he yelled.

Maru scowled but was too tired to reply. Naruto noticed this and stepped between them.

"Back off four-eyes! The squirt obviously doesn't feel comfortable with you so please leave!" Naruto asked.

"The nerve! You obviously don't know your place trash! I am a Tokubetsu Jounin and you are a Gennin and will respect me!" Ebisu threatened.

"You're right, I am trash…" Naruto closed his eyes and answered softly earning a smirk from the man and a surprised look from Maru "But those who don't care about their comrades are far worse than trash! If you want to get the squirt you'll have to go through me!" Naruto answered with full confidence.

"Boss…" Maru looked with admiration at his role model before closing his eyes and stepping in front of Naruto. "That's alright boss, you don't have to do this for me…" Maru told him "Because I will handle him myself!" and with that he charged at Ebisu.

For a couple of seconds the man was stunned with confusion allowing the kid to close in on the man. However, at the last moment his shinobi instincts kicked in and he dodged the boy's fist by jumping in a tree.

"Why do you do this honorable grandson? I told you that this trash is not worth the effort to…"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Maru surprising the man once again. The boy then turned towards Naruto "Boss I… have the answer! Those who don't care about others are far worse than trash right? Then I will protect everyone I care about and who they care for as well. No matter how hard it will be or how long it will take I will become strong enough to do so, that I swear!" and with that he once again charged at Ebisu who was having conflicted feelings after listening to the boy's words. He snapped out of his dreams when he noticed Maru closing in to the base of the tree. He smirked for a minute before his mouth snapped open as he saw the boy running up the tree keeping the same momentum.

His surprise cost him as Maru reached his level and decked him square in the jaw and they both came falling down the tree. The boy closed his eyes awaiting the pain of the fall but the feeling of stopping suddenly brought him back.

Naruto was holding him with one arm while hanging upside down on the same branch that Ebisu was perched up a moment before. The man fell to the ground. However the height wasn't that much and the man quickly got up to a sitting position nursing his sore face.

'Glad to see that Konohamaru's physical workouts are working, damn that kid can pack a punch! Sometimes I hate being an elite teacher.' the man thought to himself sarcastically.

A moment later Naruto and Konohamaru landed easily on the ground.

Ebisu eyed them for a second before smirking and getting up to full standing position. He nodded to Naruto who smirked and nodded back. He then turned around and began walking away.

"Yeah and never come back!" Maru yelled but soon felt his boss's hand on his shoulder.

"Go with him!" Naruto spoke softly.

The boy looked at him curiously but after remembering the recent adrenaline fueled events and noticing the look in Naruto's eyes he understood.

"Okay…" Maru smiled "Thanks for everything nii chan. You are no longer my Aniki!" Maru responded with a foxy grin "From now on we are rivals! Wait for me I will definitely get Jijii's hat from you!"

"Well, you will have to prove that you are strong enough for it since that hat carries the weight of the country's people and that means that you will have to kick my ass!" Naruto responded back.

"Count on it!"

"Then I'll be waiting… Konohamaru!"

The two then fist-bumped and Maru turned around yelling "Ebisu-sensei, wait for me!"

In his office an elderly Hokage was watching the events intensely with his crystal ball. Seeing and hearing (I think) the conclusion he smiled before relaxing in his chair and taking a few puffs from his pipe.

"Might be sooner than you think _squirt_." the man chuckled and turned back to his duties but not before smiling at Minato's portrait.

FLASHBACK END

Naruto smirked at the memory but quickly shrugged it off as he turned towards Iruka who was getting close.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? Class is still in session."

"Official business Iruka-sensei, this is from Jijii!" said the boy with a million dollar smile as he handed the man the scroll from the Hokage.

Iruka read it and frowned a bit. "Are you sure you want this? It's harder than it looks." asked the man with genuine concern. If for his job or for the boy we will never know.

"Don't worry sensei I already had to deal with a little sister and a little brother figure so I think I can handle it. Don't worry, this is temporary but necessary so to start a newer standard."

"Okay, if you say so…" the man sighed and turned to the class "Class!" he said but they were busy chatting amongst themselves about Naruto and weren't paying attention. A tick mark appeared on Iruka's forehead. "Class!" he said with more force but again nothing. Now he was getting pissed. He was about to use his Big-head from Hell Jutsu but Naruto put a hand in front of him.

The blond stepped forward and smiled looking to the group chatting like they were no cares in the world.

Quicker than anyone can blink he released .00001% of his potent KI. The result was more than expected as they all froze in their spots, words still hanging in their mouths. Naruto turned off his KI and they all looked at him in silence and fright, even Konohamaru.

Iruka looked at the boy with wonder and a little envy 'Why didn't I think of that?' he thought.

Naruto smirked "Now that I have your undivided attention I want to present myself. I am Naruto Uzumaki, you can call me Uzumaki-sensei, Naruto-sensei, sensei, Naruto or however you wish, I don't care. For the rest of the year and maybe more I will be your sensei and Iruka Umino-sensei will be my assistant!" he said and Iruka nodded.

The silence persisted a few more seconds before one girl stuttered "W-What was t-that?"

Naruto nodded "That was KI also known as 'Killer Intent' and it is what you will feel every time I catch you not paying attention, sleeping, skipping school, chasing boys or girls during academy time or disobeying my orders!" he answered.

There was a collective 'eehhh?' coming from them but in the background a 'troublesome' was heard by the blond.

"Oh? What's this? We have a Nara in the premise? Stand up!" he ordered and a small boy with shoulder length messy hair, gray t-shirt with a visible mesh underneath and knee-length black pants stood up albeit with great reluctance. "What's your name squirt?"

"Troublesome, Shikaryu Nara! Can I sit down now?" he answered lazily.

Naruto smiled innocently. The next moment an orange shining rope-like construction wrapped itself around Shikaryu and lifted him off his feet and pulled him towards Naruto who was generating the construction out of his forearm. The rope positioned the Nara face to face with Naruto who looked positively beaming with happiness although everybody could feel the murderous aura behind him. Ryu almost pissed himself right there.

"Ara? What was that?" Naruto asked 'kindly'.

"I-I said Shikaryu Nara and i-if I can s-sit down…" answered the still suspended boy who was now at eye level with the taller Naruto.

"Oh my! This attitude and looks… How close are you related with Shikamaru squirt?" the blond asked.

"H-he's my first cousin…" he answered but Naruto's arm flinched and the rope started tightening.

"Ara? I didn't quite catch that." Naruto answered smirking at the boy's visible uncomfortable position.

"I-I said…"

"I heard what you said maggot!" Naruto yelled making the boy swallow his own words. "When you address me you add sensei and you do it like you mean it!"

"B-But you said that we can call you however we want!" Ryu tried to defend.

Naruto frowned "You fail." he whispered. "Are you really related to Shikamaru?"

"What?" the boy asked in surprise but the rope tightened again "I mean what do you mean sensei?" he corrected and the rope slacked enough to become comfortable again.

"I meant to call me however you wish in your own time brat! Whenever I'm we are in here I am Naruto-sensei or sensei to you, all of you, and you will respect rank, weather through fear or genuine understanding! Do I make myself clear?" Naruto yelled at him and then the whole class before turning his attention back to Ryu "Also while I'm here sleeping or giving anything else but your all is forbidden if you are not knocked unconscious and if you use that condescending tone with me I will give you a reason to sleep by making you run 100 laps around the school ground, and trust me you will run." Naruto threatened.

The Nara frowned "You can't be serious, that's cruel and uncalled for." he answered back forgoing the 'sensei' and keeping his tone. He was by no means arrogant but nobody and I mean nobody (but his mother and aunt) threatened his sleep time.

Naruto smirked and retracted his rope making him fall comically on his rear. The Nara and the blond began a starring contest but after three seconds Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. Ryu smirked thinking that he won but then Naruto gathered some chakra in his hand and slammed his hand on the floor where a very particular seal appeared before a moment later a shoelace-sized blue-eyed white cobra appeared who after looking around saw Naruto and, faster than a bullet climbed onto the blond's shoulder snuggling on the boy's cheek.

"This class is Miki, my friend and my nee-san's summon. She likes rodents, scarring enemies and apparently me and my nee-san. She hates anybody who messes with us. She is a cobra-type summon and is highly venomous. Although she can deliver non-venomous bites I have to tell you that if she envenomed someone they would beg for a painful death."

The class paled.

Naruto smirked and continued "She also loves a good chase and can follow orders to the letter." The little snake mimicked a bow which some more … sadistic of the class thought of as cute.

Ryu raised an eyebrow "You said it's your 'nee-san's' summon…" he began but was stopped cold by a stare coming from his sensei.

"_She _not _it!_" Naruto retorted.

"Um… right… anyway how can _you_ summon… _her_?" Ryu asked.

"Oh, that's thanks to a modified reverse summoning seal that is placed inside her hood. Apparently she gets very cranky if I don't play with her often." Naruto answered scratching the little snake underneath her muzzle and she answered by …smiling?

"Okay? Why did you summon her?" Ryu asked while frowning.

The blond sensei's eyebrow twitched as he 'forgot' to add the proper title or honorific. And his tone was still not helping. "A very good question squirt!" Naruto beamed as he said that out loud (almost yelling) "She will make sure that I keep my promise of you running those laps, starting right now." the blond finished with a dark chuckle. "Oh and don't think about using your family's technique on her or I will personally turn you into a practice dummy for T&I techniques, got it squirt?" he told the boy with the same face he used on Hanabi during that time when she asked for training.

The boy sweated and nodded furiously while thinking 'Heh, I'll just give that spaghetti string the slip and then sleep off the rest of the day."

Naruto seemed to read this and smiled murderously "Miki-chan, would you be a dear and help me with making him run a hundred laps around the academy grounds?"

The snake looked at her friend with a confused face before looking at Ryu and sharing the blond's grin as much as a snake could. She hopped into the air and instantly grew to the size of a large anaconda and opened her hood still 'smiling' at her 'pray' while hissing. Ryu nearly shit his pants.

"_Can I usssse lethal forssse?"_ the snake hissed the words surprising everyone except Naruto.

"No venom, permanent or severe injuries but you can turn his ass into a sprinkler if he either slows down or tries to give you the slip." The blond answered nonchalantly.

Miki curled the tip of her tail and then whipped it rapidly making a (finger) snapping noise "_Sssssshuks!_" before shrugging and opening her mouth to reveal a pair of three inch long sharp needle-like fangs glistening in the neon lighting of the room.

While this was going on Shikaryu was trying to stealthily crawl towards the exit. Naruto saw this and frowned. "Miki, hunt!" he said and the boy bolted out of the door followed by a very happy snake.

Naruto chuckled darkly again before turning to the rest of the class who was almost petrified at the display. "Did everyone learn from today's lesson?"

They answered almost mechanically in a chorus of 'Yes sensei!'

The blond smiled kindly "Good, welcome to hell squirts, I will be your devil for the year!" he said as he broke out laughing deviously.

'We're screwed!' thought the class.

*End Chapter*


	13. Chapter 12 - Ghosts and ANBU

Ch 12

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for._

_Special thanks to __**Princess-Serenity-Serena **__for helping me by being the beta for this story and possibly others._

This chapter is bit of a rush job in response to my fans' request for an update and has been beta'd.

**Previously on NotS:**

Naruto chuckled darkly again before turning to the rest of the class who was almost petrified at the display. "Did everyone learn from today's lesson?"

They answered almost mechanically in a chorus of 'Yes sensei!'

The blond smiled kindly "Good, welcome to hell squirts, I will be your devil for the year!" he said as he broke out laughing deviously.

'We're screwed!' thought the class.

**Main Story:**

The boy was strolling down the road. Surprisingly, to manage being an ANBU, a Gennin on a team, a counselor, a sensei, a big brother, a godfather and a clan head wasn't that much of a big deal for him since he could 'multiply and multitask'. Sure, his ANBU duties required him to be in person but they were now getting fewer and less demanding since they took care of everything in record time. The rest he handed to either a Shadow Clone or a Body Shadow Clone since Gennin do not receive demanding or dangerous missions that often. He even had made clones for his teammates and had them Henge and they were grateful for that since most of their missions were D-rank or simple C-ranks that were supposed to boost teamwork and that they had in spades. They took the extra time to train or enjoy the more meaningful things like gardening for Hinata and playing/training with his mother and sister for Sasuke.

It had been a month and a half since squad seven joined the ANBU as the Special Assault Team or SAT. At first they were treated with a little hostility since they got in at the recommendation of the Hokage and the reinstated ex-captain Dog (Kakashi) although nobody heard what they did to deserve such an honor. They were even shown mild mistrust since part of the deal of them joining was that they should never reveal their identity to anyone, not even the ANBU commander-in-chief, and second their stature showed that they were kids around twelve-thirteen years of age, and the last one like that to join their ranks was the famed 'criminal' Itachi. Although Naruto was the one who took the blunt of their accusations because of his choice of a mask.

*Flashback*

"Okay team, time to pick your masks. They will represent you so choose wisely! As you probably know, mine is a dog and so from now on, whenever you see me with it on, you will refer to me as Dog-taicho or simply Taicho (Captain)!" Kakashi ordered them when he opened the storage room of unused masks.

Hinata and Sasuke wasted no time in choosing their respective masks. Sasuke took one that looked like a hawk and painted a few fire symbols on it before putting it on.

"Welcome to the ANBU agent Hawk!" Dog congratulated the new recruit Hawk.

"Hai, Taicho!" Hawk answered.

Hinata searched a bit before finding a mask that looked like a lion's and painted two blue catfish-like whisker marks on it before wearing it.

"Welcome to the ANBU agent Lion!" Dog repeated the greeting.

"Hai, Dog-taicho!"

Naruto on the other hand had a bit of difficulty searching for his mask. After digging through the old storage containers he found what he was looking for. Just like his teammates he customized it with his signature marks before wearing it.

Dog sweat-dropped "Are you sure that's the mask you want? I mean that … creature is not exactly well-taken to."

"Exactly! It will bring fear to those who know it and will become known to those who don't! Besides, I like it!" the blond exclaimed loudly.

"Very well then, welcome to the ANBU agent Fox!" the captain finished greeting his last squad members.

"Hai!"

Surprisingly it was easy to convince them that they were not team seven. Even though Kakashi or Dog was pretty famous, he persuaded them saying that he was known for his 'chronic tardiness and overall laziness and impassibility' and he could easily fool his Gennin team into allowing him time to train and lead his ANBU team while usually leaving a Raiton Clone to calm them. Unsurprisingly his reputation was actually worse than that so there was no problem believing his stories. Naruto's Henged Kage Bunshin also helped.

*Flashback End*

At first they only got B-ranks as per the orders of the Sandaime but after the first week things started to change. One would think that events in their lives occur with conveniently perfect timing like a Kami took interest in them or if their life was a story then the author presented them with more power and situations than it would be normal (_A/N: Muhuhahahaah!_). One such event happened at the end of their week.

*Flashback (again)*

SAT squad, or unofficially team Yūrei (Ghost), were heading towards the underground training area of the ANBU to brush up on their skills. They received their 'nickname' during their fifth day when they completed their eleventh mission for the elite group. It didn't come from the fact that nobody could figure out how they actually completed that many missions in that short amount of time. No, it actually came from the fact that no one, not even the Commander in Chief (CIC) could figure out how they leave or come back, they just disappear when rounding the corner and reappear in record time with a perfect report just outside the door showered and looking in pristine condition. The CIC even ordered the guards at the entry ways to notify him through the internal communication system when they left and came back but he never got any report ever.

The truth (unknown to him) was that Naruto put a network of Hiraishin and Sensor seals inside the barracks with invisible ink all layered under some special seals that made them invisible both to the Byakugan and the Sharingan (just to be safe) with Hinata and Sasuke both checking to make sure of that. The sensor seals were placed to detect any possible people standing near them so Naruto always knew which seals are best for a 'stealthy' entry as the prankster inside him dictated, prankster that infected his teammates and sensei as well. Kakashi or Inu-taicho was frequently turning blue under his masks from holding his breath to keep from laughing at the poor CIC's expression when he saw him. Also because of Naruto's Hiraishin they were able to make it back in record time as well as, with each outing, the blond's seal network was growing and they now could proxy to that seal and continue to their destination on foot. This effectively cut their travel time by an amount between 55 and eighty percent. But because of that and the fact that nobody either than the Hokage knew who their identities they were named Ghosts, which actually suited them quite well.

Now as I was saying they were heading to the training ground since there was a shortage of lower ranking missions (since they ploughed through them). They were just about to reach it when they ran into the CIC talking to a frog masked ANBU.

"Damn it! What do we do now? My Rescue Squad is gone on another mission and I have no time to form a new one! FUCK!" he said throwing the paperclip that he was holding into the wall.

Just then Kakashi saw fit to put a hand on his shoulder.

The man turned heel ready to rip the one who bothered him a new one when he stopped seeing team Ghost and while he didn't care so much about some brats he didn't know he did know Kakashi and by all accounts the Cyclops should be the one in his place, both skill and experience wise.

"What's up?" Kakashi asked genuinely concerned.

"There's been a situation. Parrot and his assault team have been captured by a group of missing Nin. The captors currently have about twenty Chuunin, five Jounin and about sixty bandits. They are led by Hiromi Gorotshu also known as Yamahasai-ki no Hiromi (Mountain Crusher Hiromi) an A-rank borderline S-rank missing Nin from Iwa. He is said to have been on a demolition squad with their S-rank missing nin Deidra. He has the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai and uses it with his giant battle hammer he calls Hiisatsu (One Hit Kill)." The CIC continued frowning behind his tiger mask. He then looked at Kakashi and then his squad who was standing in perfect attention with perfect control even of their breath. Had they not been in front of his face he would have forgotten that they were there 'Ghost squad eh?' the CIC thought for a moment "Inu, I know this is rather unorthodox but there is nobody else I can turn to so I am ordering you and SAT to rescue them!"

Kakashi was a little surprised but it wasn't like he didn't expect it.

"With all due respect Commander, we would love to but the Hokage specifically forbidden us from any such dangerous assignments." Kakashi answered.

"Damn it Kakashi!" Tiger shouted "You just get my men back and I'll worry about the Hokage, now go!" but they were already gone having gotten the info from his assistant.

In an hour they were already in position at the edge of the forest overlooking the missing nin's wooden fortress.

"Alright team, we do this nice and quiet." Kakashi whispered "Keep in the shadows till we get the captives to safety. After that is fire at will if the situation calls for it." the captain surveyed the visible part of the base from his position. He then activated the seal that telepathically connected him to his team. After the mask selection Naruto though that it would be a good addition to the team's dynamic so he offered it to Kakashi who accepted it immediately.

'Showtime!' he mentally transmitted 'Hinata you…'

'Fifty seven people with average chakra levels scattered throughout the base, thirteen Chuunin level people in the third tent from the gate, three people with Jounin and Tokubetsu Jounin in the center tent sleeping, they also appear to be drunk as their chakra fluctuates. The other two Jounin are relaying orders to a heavily armed man, possible bandit leader. No sign of Gorotshu.' Hinata answered.

Kakashi was a little blown back by her reaction time 'Very good…' he answered. 'Naruto you…'

'Watch towers neutralized, clones replaced them for appearance, moving to Chuunin tent!' the blond replied.

'Okay… good work!' Kakashi answered in his stupefied state. 'Sasuke… do I need to say anything?'

Sasuke mentally chuckled 'Gate guards neutralized under heavy genjutsu. They won't even notice us. Proceeding to neutralize sober Jounin…Jounin neutralized. They will sleep for twelve hours thanks to the genjutsu.'

'Those brats…' Kakashi playfully thought.

'We heard that!' came the reply from all three of them.

Kakashi sweat-dropped and kicked himself into gear securing different positions. The Gennin made it safely to the other side of camp where the ANBU team was kept in confinement. They then took out the guards and moved to open the gates when a greenish crack appeared in the ground between them and their target before blowing up a lot of dirt. They jumped back and positioned themselves looking towards the source of the blast. Fifty feet from them stood the mountain of a man called Yamahasai-ki no Hiromi shouldering Hiisatsu and smirking like a mad man. He was dressed in loose black pants, shinobi navy-blue sandals and his chest was bare save for the brown sleeveless brown jacket that was open showing his steel-like toned body. His hair and beard were long and messy and he had a vertical scar similar to Kakashi's on his Sharingan eye but Hiromi's eye was fine. Behind him were the so-called inebriated shinobi, seven Chuunin and a hoard of bandits wielding different weapons. The captives looked on in horror and despair as their only hope of getting out alive in secret vanished that moment.

"So…" Hiromi began "You thought that you could sneak inside my place and steal my toys? Not going to happen!" he yelled in a semi-crazed state "Split up and take them! I don't need them alive!" Hiromi ordered and they quickly followed through. Two fifths of the bandits, three Chuunin and a Jounin charged at Hinata, while another two fifths and another Jounin went for Sasuke. The rest bundled together to take on Naruto. Kakashi who had lagged a little behind went into hiding waiting for either the perfect chance to take down Hiromi or to help his team at the last moment if they needed it.

Not that they needed it though in this situation. They all dropped their respective weights and felt light as a feather. They activated their respective eye techniques and got into position.

Hinata was the first to fell an enemy and quickly followed up gaining momentum leaving behind a sea of dead or unconscious bodies. Her Byakugan made it virtually impossible to sneak behind her since the blind spot was relatively small and while it could hide an arrow or a kunai it couldn't hide the blundering buffoons that came charging at her. The bandits were no problem at all and her speed made her short work of the pesky Chuunin that tried different techniques to stop and kill her. But the Jounin proved worthy his rank.

"Impressive but don't think that you can kill me brat! I have to tell you that I have a B-rank in the Bingo Book and a bounty of five million for killing a couple of brats just like you!" the Kunoichi grinned while he redirected a Juken strike. She kept the tough guy act up but the truth was that the gaki was pushing her limits since whenever she tried to perform a jutsu Hinata appeared in front of her and forced her to stop making hand seals and use her arms to defend herself.

"B-rank?" Hinata asked while throwing a hurricane of blows at the kunoichi "Well for my first C-rank…" she swept at her legs throwing her off-balance "We had to fight former mist swordsman Momochi Zabuza…" following with a high kick that grazed the woman's chin "And his apprentice that has an ice-based kekkei genkai…" she rotated and threw a palm strike that the kunoichi barely avoided but Hinata hit a tree splitting it in half down the middle "Who was a lot faster than you are and…" she smirked before spiking her chakra "I was just playing with you. Goodbye!" she disappeared from the kunoichi's sight. The woman looked around desperately but then heard from behind her "Hakke Hasangeki! (Eight Trigrams: Mountain Crusher)" and she was blasted off her feet by a point blank Vacuum Palm and flew right into a rock where she stood unconscious. Hinata offered a short prayer to her fallen enemies and turned towards her teammates.

Sasuke was throwing fire and lightning jutsu one after the other while using his speed to keep well out of reach.

"Raiton: Raineko!" (Lightning Release: Lightning Cat) he shouted and a cat made of pure lightning shot out of his back and 'scratched' a hand full of bandits cutting them in small pieces. "Katon: Goukakyu!" he shouted again and burned more bandits. This went on until it was only him and the Jounin shinobi.

"How the fuck did you have enough chakra for this brat?" the man shouted genuinely impressed.

Sasuke smirked "I had two slave-driving teachers. This doesn't even count as morning workout." the boy stated confidently.

The Jounin snarled and charged at Sasuke. They were trading blows and seemed equally matched but then Sasuke broke off and fired a Gouryuka at the man. The man saw the giant draconic head made of fire rush towards him but was too late to dodge and was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Sasuke stood there admiring his work but then went wide eye as a spike of earth pierced him in the middle of his chest. The Jounin appeared out of the ground.

"Fool! I went underground when I saw your fancy candlelight coming towards me and then used a simple C-rank jutsu to kill you!" the man boasted loudly and started laughing but then he felt a sharp pain in his neck and he started gurgling blood. The next moment the scene changed to him standing where he was when he first started talking to the Hawk masked boy with no visible sign of their battle. The only thing that was changed was the fact that the boy was now directly in front of him holding a bloody kunai and noticed the blood-red Sharingan eyes before death took him and he fell limp on the ground "Sharingan Genjutsu: Mugetsu!" (Moonless Sky). Sasuke then offered the same prayer that Hinata did as it became a custom between them. It was more of a wish for them to find atonement and peace in the next life than a religious ceremony. He then followed Hinata's example and looked towards his team.

Naruto just stood in the middle of the mass of bandits who were sneering and smirking at him. He was holding Meian who was now crimson red.

"Look he's frozen stiff!" laughed one bandit.

"Can you smell that? I think he shit his pants!" cracked another.

Naruto let out a breath as he focused and slowly faded from view as he activated Kagamiiki. The next moment would forever be burnt inside the mind of the captives that were watching the battle with interest. The men that once surrounded the boy fell as one. Not even the Jounin that came after him escaped and now they all lay dead or unconscious on the cold ground.

"_Shinigami!_" whispered one of the captives as the boy appeared at the edge of the mass of bodies holding a bloody sword a vision of a formless dark figure with glowing red slit eyes appeared above him. The whisper was heard by a barely conscious Chuunin who immediately passed out.

Meanwhile Hiromi was grinding his teeth together so hard that most people would be afraid of them cracking. He thought that his helpers were weak but not so weak that they would fall to a bunch of brats. He raised Hiisatsu and slammed it into the ground making a thundering noise that attracted attention of the Gennin.

Hinata and Sasuke reared up to engage him but Naruto made them stop.

"He's mine." Naruto stated calmly as he walked to the missing Nin.

Hiromi frowned as he eyed Naruto who responded with a glare of his own. After a few seconds of eyeing each other the man broke the silence with a simple "Die!" before disappearing from view in an impressive display of speed. He appeared a moment later behind Naruto taking a wild swing at the boy who parried using Meian without even moving from his position. Hiromi frowned before gaining a murderous grin. Naruto was surprised by this until Hiisatsu glowed green and erupted in a directional blast that threw the blond off his feet. Hiromi didn't give him a chance to recover as he kicked the ground making a lump of earth jump before striking it with his battle hammer and charging the shards with explosive chakra. The poor blond had to do whatever he could to avoid the onslaught of bombs that were thrown at him. After seven repeats of this Hiromi finally stopped and went to survey the area. He found a battered and bruised blond unconscious on the ground. He smirked until the blade of a sword exited his chest. Behind him was a very battered Naruto as the one on the ground turned to smoke.

"*huff,huff* Got you!" Naruto smiled but quickly panicked as the Hiromi he 'killed' turned into soft mud. 'Mud Clone!' the blond though but it was too late since as soon as he turned he met Hiisatsu head on and his head was blown clear off his shoulders in a shower of brain and gore. His headless body fell limp on the ground as a panting Hiromi stood before him.

"Damn gaki, I have to admit you were good …" he smirked "But not good enough!" he said as he broke out into laughter.

"Did you really have to kill my Body Shadow Clone?" a voice came from one of the trees making the man freeze in place. He turned towards the source of the voice and saw nothing until a Naruto holding a sake bottle and relaxing on the branch slowly came back into view as he canceled Kagamiiki. "Those things are hard to make you know! They don't grow on trees!"

"What?!" the man finally gained back his speech.

"Oh come on! You didn't think that I was that weak did you? I mean a Body Kage Bunshin can have at maximum fifteen percent of my power and that would be seriously pushing its integrity. That one had about eight percent." the blond stated as he took another swig of the bottle before resealing it "And now I have to kill you, unless you surrender!"

The man's temper quickly gained hold of him as he charged yelling "FUCK YOOOOUU!"

Naruto sighed and took the red Meian and looked at it for a brief moment. The sword only glowed crimson when he was seriously pissed. The Crimson Meian fed on his anger and rage and channeled it to the blade. His training with the Hyuuga helped him focus that anger on his target without clouding his judgment and he was furious with this man who had the nerve to hold his ANBU colleagues captive.

As Hiromi took another step Naruto focused half of his chakra into his extremities, supercharging his already impressive motor system and giving him lightning speed.

Before the man knew what was happening Naruto appeared before him and then split into another six after images (A/N If you read of watched Bleach think Ichigo vs Byakuya) as the man, although still moving at impressive speed, appeared to be standing still to the blond. The next moment all images of the blond slashed at him, the crimson slashes separating into ten other parallel slashes each and split the man into small cubes in a shower of blood "Seikuuken Ryuu: Nana-jū Shinkubara" (Seikuuken Style: Seventy Blossoming Buds) Naruto whispered as he made a sheathing motion with the sword that disappeared when he did so. That was Crimson Meian's final ability, it enhanced his sword moves tenfold sometimes with visible effect. This time his slices multiplied ten times each and the power behind them was ten times greater than his muscles permitted him at that time. The downside to this was … As soon as Naruto saw the man dead his rage subsided and he started breathing hard. That was the price to pay. The power of his sword had to come from somewhere and it came in the form of ten times the fatigue as it was drained from his own energies.

After catching his breath Naruto and the others sealed the bodies of the killed missing nin while tying up the others leaving them to the authorities. After that they prepared to teleport back to Konoha with the now unconscious rescued agents but Kakashi kept thinking 'I'm definitely getting chewed out for this later…'

Three days later they were in the ANBU barracks and barely got to take a shower before the CIC's assistant came to them with a message that they were to report to the Hokage tower a.s.a.p.

In the Kage's office…

"What in the blue hell were you thinking!" the Sandaime yelled without restrain as Naruto's privacy seals blocked them from getting to the outside.

The party remained quiet before the man showing slight remorse for disobeying orders.

"I explicitly forbid you from any sort of action and here you are in my office bringing not one but three bodies from high profile targets, one of which a recently 'promoted' S-rank shinobi!" the man gestured wildly to the scrolls.

"Sir!" Tora (Tiger/CIC) bowed drawing attention onto himself "I apologize for my rude interruption but it was I who ordered them to overlook your orders and for that I accept full responsabil…" he was about to offer his life to mend the situation when Naruto put a hand on his shoulder.

"No." Naruto spoke "Hokage-sama…" the blond began with his professional tone and speech developed to keep his ID a secret "Even if Tora-Sotaicho (Captain Commander/Head Captain) had not given the order we would still have gone so the blame does not fall entirely up to him." the blond spoke emotionlessly.

Hiruzen scowled deeply but sighed deeply and inwardly "If that is true then I will give you one chance to explain yourselves. If it does not come satisfactory then I will be forced to strip you of your position. I will not have loose kunai on my private force!" the Sandaime spoke with conviction and a little pain on his part.

The party was about to answer when Naruto's body suddenly jolted slightly from receiving the memories of a clone. He then stepped forward silencing them before they got to speak and tilted his head towards the CIC. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at this but he wasn't the Hokage for nothing. He then ordered Tora to leave the office and the man quickly conformed. The old man then wanted to order Naruto to continue but the boy just used his speed to grab the Kage and his team and Hiraishined to his office in the Hospital. Although his passengers were surprised by this he just motioned them to follow. They conformed once again and followed the ANBU-clad blond through two corridors before arriving at the section reserved for the rescued party.

In the middle of the hallway stood a woman who although her eyes were filled with tears was smiling radiantly as she looked at the image of a little girl, probably no more than five, tightly embraced a man dressed in a hospital gown who anyone with common knowledge would guess that he was her father and the woman's husband. He was also the unmasked agent Frog who now went by his name of Genshiro Mirushin.

The scene was both touching and sweet as the girl happily let go of Genshiro and started a small game with the man who laughed and cried at the same time, happy to be alive to see his family once more.

"This is why Jijii…" the blond began breaking the silence of the group "I already know the pain of not having a father, so I will not allow others to suffer fates similar to mine if I can help it." Naruto whispered before throwing a light Henge over his face and unfastening his mask and unsealing his traditional tanto, presenting them both to the Hokage. "If that's not good enough then take them… I don't need them if that's the case."

'_If that old man takes them then all my respect for him goes down the drain!_' thought our friendly neighborhood Bijuu Kitsune.

"Okay I got it! Keep them. I would feel like a louse if I took them from you after seeing that." Hiruzen sighed before smirking "I have to show you something!" he said and pulled out a freshly minted Bingo Book. "Apparently one of the Chuunin that your team killed was the son of a high ranking official in Iwa. So look at the end pages."

The blond nodded and opened the book while Hinata and Sasuke were looking over his shoulders. He finally got to the page where he noticed the forensic-style sketch of Sasuke in his ANBU gear and his Hawk mask. It read:

'Name: Unknown

Age: Unknown (Presumed 12-14)

Gender: Male

Known Alias: Konohagakure ANBU: Agent Hawk

Nickname: Kōgi no Arashi (Firestorm)

Rank: S

Known Associates: Names Unknown, Aliases: Konohagakure ANBU: Agent Lion, Konohagakure ANBU: Agent Kitsune

Bounty: 10 000 000 Ryu

History: Unknown

Taijutsu: Unknown

Genjutsu: Unknown

Ninjutsu: Jounin or Elite Jounin

Affinities Known: Fire and Lightning

Wanted for the death of Earth Country's Councilor Oosaki's son: Oosaki Juuntaro.

Very proficient in both Fire and Lightning Jutsu as well as having very impressive speed, he made the bingo book after he and his team of three killed Oosaki Juuntaro, the Daimio's Councilor's son when they either killed or critically injured his bodyguards: around sixty hired help, twenty mercenary Chuunin and five Jounin.

Special warning: If with team then approach with caution. Never attack if you have less than fifty Jounin or equal man power.

Important information: Killed A-rank missing Nin Takahiro Momitsui also known as Takahiro no Jimen o Shifuto (Shifting Ground) from Iwa and part of his associates without any injury (not even a scratch).'

Naruto read and chuckled before raising an eyebrow "Firestorm?" to which Sasuke just shrugged.

The blond then turned the other page.

'Name: Unknown

Age: Unknown (Presumed 12-14)

Gender: Female

Known Alias: Konohagakure ANBU: Agent Lion

Nickname: Rōtasu Bōrei (Lotus Apparition/Ghost)

Rank: S

Known Associates: Names Unknown, Aliases: Konohagakure ANBU: Agent Hawk, Konohagakure ANBU: Agent Kitsune

Bounty: 8 000 000 Ryu

History: Unknown

Taijutsu: Elite Jounin

Genjutsu: Unknown

Ninjutsu: Unknown

Affinities Known: Yin-Yang

Wanted for the death of Earth Country's Councilor Oosaki's son: Oosaki Juuntaro.

Deadly in close quarters she made the bingo book after she and her team of three killed Oosaki Juuntaro, the Daimio's Councilor's son when they either killed or critically injured his bodyguards: around sixty hired help, twenty mercenary Chuunin and five Jounin.

Special warning: If with team then approach with caution. Never attack if you have less than fifty Jounin or equal man power.

Important: Killed high B-rank missing Nin Suirin Samidare also known as Kyūryū no Samidare (Early Summer Rain's: Torrent) from Kiri and part of her associates without any injury (not even a scratch).'

Naruto then kissed Hinata's cheek and she responded with a soft 'Eep!' "_Lotus-hime. __My__ Lotus! _" he whispered in her ear making her shiver in excitement.

The blond turned the final page and went wide eye.

'Name: Unknown

Age: Unknown (Presumed 12-14)

Gender: Male

Known Alias: Konohagakure ANBU: Agent Kitsune

Nickname: Shiroi Shinigami (Konoha's White Deathgod)

Rank: High S

Known Associates: Names Unknown, Aliases: Konohagakure ANBU: Agent Lion, Konohagakure ANBU: Agent Hawk

Bounty: 25 000 000 Ryu

History: Unknown

Taijutsu: Unknown

Genjutsu: Unknown

Ninjutsu: Unknown (Presumed Jounin)

Kenjutsu: Unknown (Presumed Master)

Affinities Known: None

Wanted for the death of Earth Country's Councilor Oosaki's son: Oosaki Juuntaro.

Not much is known about him except that nobody ever sees him kill as he glows white, disappears from view and when he appears his targets are already dead from which he earned his nickname and that he can use very advance cloning jutsu, he made the bingo book after he and his team of three killed Oosaki Juuntaro, the Daimio's Councilor's son when they either killed or critically injured his bodyguards: around sixty hired help, twenty mercenary Chuunin and five Jounin.

Special warnings: If with team then approach with caution. Never attack if you have less than fifty Jounin or equal man power.

Appears to use a strange technique that makes him undetectable but can still interact with the environment since when he reappears his opponents are already dead.

Important: Killed low S-rank missing Nin Hiromi Gorotshu also known as Yamahasai-ki no Hiromi of the former Iwa Explosion Corps and part of his associates without any injury (not even a scratch).'

Naruto then looked at Hiruzen "Will they press charges?"

The man smiled "No because if they did the fact that the man's son was an outlaw would be released. So now they are trying this little cold war with us. Enough about that, what do you think of this?"

Naruto frowned "I think that the councilor is a cheapskate." Naruto answered blowing the Hokage back a little "I mean who in the world pays less than fifty million ryu for S-class wanted nin. Even your son has 35 mils and he is an A-class." Naruto finished and they all shared a good laugh.

*Flashback End*

'Perhaps I should visit my drinking buddy Tazuna?' the blond thought. 'Meh, why not?' he said and checked his storage scrolls that contained some of his best sake as well as a few more exotic drinks like that one from the Land of Snow, Vodka I think the name was and that Tequila from the southern part of Kaze no Kuni, Brandy from a country he forgot the name of (Temujin's country), and one of his personal favorites Palinca (also referred to as Pálinka) that a travelling merchant had for sale and he bought the whole shipment of three crates. He even had some exotic non-alcoholic beverages and juice for Inari. Perfect.

Verifying that it was okay he dashed into an alleyway and after making sure the coast was clear he Hiraishined across the country to a seal he put on the bridge.

After he dusted himself off and checked his looks in the water's reflection he made his way towards Tazuna's house going through the village. Big mistake!

One of the village girls spotted him and instantly recognized him. Having a bridge named after you and a statue placed inside the Town Hall kind of made that easy for everyone to.

"KYAAAAA!" she screamed startling the poor Namikaze "IT'S HIM! It's Uzumaki-sama!" she screamed and dashed forward with speed that would make a seasoned shinobi envious. The rest of the villagers seemed to pop out of the ground hearing her statement and soon followed her example. Naruto was instantly swarmed by a lot of thankful citizens of wave screaming his name and offering him different products.

Naruto sweat-dropped and smiled as he tried his best to answer their calls but he was soon overwhelmed "Yes!... No!... NO, well maybe!... No problem! I think… Yes your daughter is very cute but … QUIET!" he screamed at the end making them all freeze. "Phew!" he wiped the sweat off his brow making them all chuckle nervously as they realized they verbally mobbed him. "Sorry 'bout that! Like I said before, I'm here to visit the country as well as Tazuna and his family. Thank you for your kindness and sorry for my … extreme reaction earlier as I was overwhelmed by your affection," he said to all and they backed off to give him some room. Just then he had a brilliant idea. Flaring his chakra a bit he created a lot of Shadow Clones. The villagers seemed surprised by the number of Narutos present on the street. "Each of you can take a clone and entertain yourselves as much as you decently want!" he told the villagers (making a few girls grumble at the word 'decently'). He then turned to the clones "You know your jobs. The ones without a partner dispel yourselves!" he said and they saluted and shouted a collective 'Ossu! (Yessir!)'

Naruto then separated from a very happy group/mob and made his way to Tazuna and Tsunami's residence. He smiled remembering the kind mother dotting over her son while clobbering her drunken father for speaking or slobbering indecent things.

He knocked twice on the door hearing a very familiar, 'I'll get that mom!'

Inari was enjoying some quality time with his mother, helping her around the house while practicing some things that Naruto slipped him in a scroll as a departure present. One of which was tree walking that after unlocking his chakra appealed to the boy as a chocolate bar to a starving man. Naturally Tsunami found out about his secret training and instead of chastising him for hiding it she popped a devil's tail and told him to train while cleaning the house. That's why we now find the boy hanging upside down on the ceiling cleaning the lights and the pesky higher cobwebs. He was thinking that it was way too cool to hang around like that to be upset about doing chores when he heard a knock on the door.

He walked down from his position telling his mother that he will answer that. When he opened the door he couldn't see the person standing there since the pesky sun was right behind the person shadowing his features.

Inari squinted to get a better view but quickly went wide-eye when he heard him talk.

"Hey Inari, long time no see!" greeted Naruto

The poor boy took a few moments to register the fact that his brother figure was right in front of him but then faster than his age dictated he tried to tackle the blond screaming "NARUTO-NII-CHAN!"

For his part Naruto was expecting this kind of reaction from Inari and braced himself as he hugged the boy back.

"MOOOOOM it's Naruto-nii-chan! He came back!" Inari yelled towards the house.

There was a sudden smashing sound that only a ceramic plate or a drinking glass could make followed by the sound of feet clattering rapidly on the wooden floor as Tsunami came rushing out of the kitchen and joined in the hug.

"Naruto-kun!" she yelled as she squeezed her son-from-another-mother with tenderness and warmth. She quickly had her fill though and gracefully stepped back and smiled "Welcome back!"

Naruto smiled back and answered, "Hello Tsunami-san! Good to be back!"

A few minutes later they were happily making small talk around the same kitchen table that they first bonded together. It turns out that the earlier sound was made by a plate that Tsunami was cleaning. She wanted to pick up the shards immediately but Naruto would have none of it and made three clones to do it for her since it was dangerous for her to do so. His clones would be no problem though.

"So when did you arrive?" the mother asked.

"Half an hour ago. Took me a little time and ingenuity to escape from my apparent fans in this country." he said while groveling a little making the family members sweat-drop.

"So I take it you have a mission nearby?" she continued.

"Nope!" he answered smiling, "Just wanted to visit you guys and my old drinking pal Tazuna! Got the idea an hour ago."

"An hour ago? How did you get here so fast?" Inari peeped in.

"A jutsu called Hiraishin no Jutsu. I can use it to teleport instantly to any seals I have previously placed. I placed one on the bridge last time I was here." he admitted and the woman looked at him in awe.

Inari on the other hand had a mind track similar to Konohamaru. "Teach me please!" the boy begged.

The blond looked at him with regret. "Sorry Inari! It's too advanced and dangerous for you to try yet! Have you at least gotten to water walking yet?"

Inary looked down in shame "No but I'm getting there…"

Naruto nodded in understanding "See? That is a thousand times easier than this jutsu and infinitely safer. Really, what's with youth these days? They always want the flashy techniques not studying the basics. I still have to pound some this into my students daily."

"You have students? Like Kakashi-san and Kurenai-san?" Tsunami asked very much surprised by his statement.

"No, not a Gennin team but I'm an instructor at the academy. Really those squirts think that they own the world. Don't get me wrong, it's good to have dreams but they are like wall flowers. They have to have a snake biting at their heels to work hard, literally. I'm trying to save their lives and they look at me like I'm the Shinigami," he chuckled.

"I kind of find that hard to believe since you are such…" Tsunami began but Inari who was still in a little shock from the turn down recovered and interrupted (quite rude of him).

"Oh come on nii-chan! I will learn that technique and nothing will happen to me! Please! Please! Please! P…" the boy's words stuck in his mouth as he saw Naruto's angry red-slit eyes and felt his 'sensei KI' wash over him. He froze in place with his mouth agape.

"Inari!" the blond began in a tone that froze his blood. "It's good that you are enthusiastic about learning but you must understand that patience is a virtue. When I said that I will not teach you was not out of ill intent or because I was belittling your abilities! I did so because I know what it takes to learn it and you are not ready for it. Not unless you want your family to bury you in five separate coffins. That is if they find the body parts," he continued looking Inari in the eyes making the boy sweat profusely. "Also what you have done is very rude towards your mother! Apologize this instant or you will find out what I do to keep my students in check! And trust me you wouldn't want that!"

Inari nodded fast "G-Gomennassai! (I'm sorry!)"

Naruto nodded and turned to the happy-go-lucky blond that everybody knew.

Tsunami smiled while raising an eyebrow. "You know… I take that back. You really are an Oni-Sensei," she sighed playfully earning a chuckle from the blond.

"That's what my students tell me as well but you can't out the results," he answered and shared a good laugh with her. "By the way where is your father?"

She sighed. "Sleeping like a log."

"Drank too much?" Naruto asked.

"No, he finished the last of his booze two days ago. Right now he is on a short self-imposed vacation since he made a lot of money selling his carpentry works to the hoard of merchants now passing through the country and now he is just relaxing. I just let him sleep for now since he worked so hard but I don't want this to stick to him and turn him into some lazy bones." the woman answered with a smile.

Naruto then flashed a Cheshire grin "Oh really? Well then looks like I have to do something about that," he said 'innocently' before heading up to the man's room.

When he got there he found Tazuna sprawled on his futon with a giant sleep bubble coming out of his snoring air ways. Sneaking to his side he inhaled a lot of air…

The scene that had fallen on the Land of Waves was peaceful and serene. The birds were singing and the people were especially happy since not only had they regained their prosperity which was slowly rising but also because their hero had come and each got a 'piece' of him to talk to. Yes all was well and beautiful.

That is until… "WAKE UP YOU DRUNK! RISE AND SHINE!" blasted through the village.

Back at the Tazuna household…

Naruto looked in surprise as the old man who was snoring peacefully disappeared before his eyes. He blinked once before he saw some sawdust falling from the ceiling of the wooden house. He turned his gaze upwards and saw a Tazuna-like hole through it. A moment later a slightly battered and wood-covered Tazuna appeared at the door to the room growling like a demon on a dope withdrawal.

An hour later and an epic chase through the village and an exhausted carpenter was eating with his family on the opposite end of the table to where our favorite blond stood grinning like a fox. The man scowled every time he looked at the smiling face much to the amusement of his grandson and to the exasperation of his daughter.

"Oh come on old man loosen up, it was just a joke!" the blond tried to appease the situation.

"Hmph!" was Tazuna's response "Some joke…" he began sarcastically "Waking an old man up like that during his vacation." the carpenter closed his eyes and crossed his hands, his face still scowling. "I hate you," he growled.

"Hey old man!" Naruto appealed.

"Nope! Not talking to you!" the old man answered childishly.

"Come on Tazuna-osan, open your eyes!" the shinobi tried again.

"No!" the man answered again.

"Oh for the love of … Father open your eyes!" Tsunami ordered with much authority.

Tazuna sighed "Oh alright what… is… it…"

The man's voice gave way as he stared at the table-full of booze, assortments of which he never even heard of but his drunkard instincts made his mouth water.

"Peace offering!" Naruto grinned like his father "So… can we have peace so I can drink you under the table? I'll even throw in a little bonus and promise you no hangover tomorrow!"

Tazuna was speechless as he eyed the various labels on the bottles, each more exotic then the next as his mouth flooded. He then looked with wonder at the blond and yelled "I LOVE YOU!" He then 'flashed' inside the house and brought out the finest glasses he had and they all partied for hours. After that Naruto said his goodbyes and kept his word to Tazuna leaving an advanced clone behind to purge the man and his daughter of alcohol before they went to bed as well as to supervise a little bit of Inari's training. Life was good for now but a storm was brewing on the horizon.

In a secret place…

"Are the preparations complete?" a sinister voice asked from the darkness.

"Yes my lord! Our new allies have been most cooperative," the subordinate answered.

"Gooood!" the man's voice echoed in the halls of the complex, "Soon I will crush them and my victory will be complete Ku-ku-ku-ku! You may leave now… Kabuto!"

"Yes lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto bowed deeply before sinking into the shadows.

"Soon sensei…" Orochimaru hissed before mimicking his second in command.

*End chapter*

A/N

Next chapter: The Chuunin Exams and a meeting with Jiraya. What could have happened between them that made Hiruzen shiver?


	14. Not a chapter, just a message

Hello everyone!

First of all I would like to thank you for your continuous support and to let you know that I appreciate each and every review, old or new.

Now that the mushy stuff is out of the way I have some news:

I am officially putting the prototype chapter: Seal Lord Naruto (Time Travel – you know it) for adoption. Details are on my profile page.

Also I have a sort of pseudo-challenge for anyone daring to take on such a task. A while ago I had a little crush on Neglected Naruto type fanfics and began to create my own. Although nothing came out of it since it is mostly composed of scattered paragraphs with no links between them (they jump from one scene to another although they still keep the plotline on the right course (not like now Naruto is five and then four and then twelve)). I am also putting this for adoption or however you would like to call it. Just P.M me and I will send you the file. Details are also on my profile.

Stay safe and happy reading!

Dragolight


	15. Ch 13 - A Sage's Past & The Chuunin Exam

Ch 13

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for._

_Special thanks to __**Princess-Serenity-Serena **__for helping me by being the beta for this story and possibly others._

**Previously on NotS:**

In a secret place…

"Are the preparations complete?" a sinister voice asked from the darkness.

"Yes my lord! Our new allies have been most cooperative," the subordinate answered.

"Gooood!" the man's voice echoed in the halls of the complex, "Soon I will crush them and my victory will be complete Ku-ku-ku-ku! You may leave now… Kabuto!"

"Yes lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto bowed deeply before sinking into the shadows.

"Soon sensei…" Orochimaru hissed before mimicking his second in command.

**Main Story:**

Naruto was inside his compound relaxing after his usual day: teaching at the academy for an hour before tagging out with a clone, doing a daily dose of D-ranks, spending a little time with the newly formed Konohamaru corps and a healthy meal together with his two resident Hyuugas. Right now he was sorting through scrolls when he found the summoning scroll recovered from Kiri. 'Forgot about this thing, better get it to its rightful owners…'. Before that though he began reading a freshly bought Kirigakure bingo-book when he came upon an entry that made him tremble slightly while sweating profusely "Oh man, Jijii's going to flip when he reads this ehehe…"

No sooner had he finished saying this that a voice rocked the village "NARUTOOOOO!"

"Looks like he just did." the blond sighed.

"**No, ya' think?**" said our local friendly Bijuu.

Naruto just laughed mentally before putting on his trench coat while channeling chakra to it to change its color theme. It was now striped by burnt orange and black uneven lines giving it the look of a tiger's skin. He checked himself two times in a mirror before nodding and Hiraishining to the roof of the Hokage tower.

He made his way to the doors of the office and unceremoniously entered after knocking once "Yeah Jijii?"

The man looked at the blond for a few seconds before sighing "Naruto…" he let it hang in the air "I don't suppose you read the latest Kiri bingo-book have you?"

Naruto's shoulders dropped and that was all that the Hokage needed for an answer. The man shook his head from side to side before calming down realizing that it was not really the blond's fault "Then you know that Konoha now has the first B-rank Gennin team in history."

The ANBU guards almost tripped while standing still at hearing the information. One of them couldn't keep his composure any longer and took the bingo-book that stood on the corner of the Kage's desk. He flashed through pages until he was met with a sight that nearly blew his mask off.

'_Special entry: Konohagakure Gennin Team Seven_

_First Gennin_

_'Name: Sasuke Uchiha_

_Age: Unknown 12-14_

_Gender: Male_

_Known Alias: Last Uchiha, Gennin of the Year_

_Nickname: None_

_Rank:High- B_

_Position: Gennin_

_Known Associates: Naruto Uzumaki, Hyuuga Hinata, Kakashi Hatake, Konohagakure_

_Bounty: 0 Ryu_

_History: Unknown_

_Taijutsu: Jounin level_

_Genjutsu: Unknown_

_Ninjutsu: Jounin or Elite Jounin_

_Affinities Known: Fire_

_Special Characteristics: Sharingan, higher than standard chakra capacity_

_Important information: Together with Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga, incapaciatated Zabuza Momochi's unknown aprentice who was by estimates a low A-rank_

_Second Gennin_

_'Name: Naruto Uzumaki_

_Age: 12-14_

_Gender: Male_

_Known Alias: None_

_Nickname: None_

_Rank: High-B_

_Position: Gennin_

_Known Associates: Sasuke Uchiha, Hyuuga Hinata, Kakashi Hatake, Konohagakure_

_Bounty: 0 Ryu_

_History: Unknown_

_Taijutsu: Unknown_

_Genjutsu: Unknown_

_Ninjutsu: Unknown, Presumed Jounin_

_Affinities Known: Wind_

_Special Characteristics: Fuinjutsu expert, outstanding speed, special senses enhancing jutsu_

_Kenjutsu Expert/Master (No accurate data) - Defeated and captured former Mist Swordsman Raiga Kurosuki although it is to be noted that the Kiri swordsman had been in a lengthy battle with Kurenai Yuhi before he was confronted by the Gennin. Also killed aproximately 300 armed bandits in a single strike. His sword appears to posess special abilities._

_Medic-nin: First-class_

_Important information: Together with Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga, he incapaciatated Zabuza Momochi's unknown aprentice who was by estimates a low A-rank._

_Third Gennin_

_'Name: Hinata Hyuuga_

_Age: 12-14_

_Gender: Female_

_Known Alias: Konoha's Princess, Hyuuga Heir, Kunoichi of the Year_

_Nickname: None_

_Rank: B_

_Position: Gennin_

_Known Associates: Naruto Uzumaki, Hyuuga Hinata, Kakashi Hatake, Hyuuga Clan, Konohagakure_

_Bounty: 0 Ryu_

_History: Unknown_

_Taijutsu: Jounin to Elite Jounin_

_Genjutsu: Unknown_

_Ninjutsu: Unknown, Presumed Jounin (Juken Jutsu)_

_Affinities Known: None_

_Special Characteristics: Byakugan, higher than standard chakra capacity, Juken Taijutsu_

_Important information: Together with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, she incapaciatated Zabuza Momochi's unknown aprentice who was by estimates a low A-rank'_

The ANBU nearly fainted but quickly composed himself and reassumed his duties.

Naruto was deep in thought, something just didn't add up. He clearly fought during the encounter but not so much that it would give that much info. His highly educated mind and snap-quick thinking he came up with just one conclusion "We have a mole." he whispered.

Hiruzen did a deep intake of smoke from his pipe before blowing it out. "Indeed although this information could have been a spy from Kiri who happened to look at your fight."

"No, our info is too detailed. Our full names, our age and our positions are not something that should be that obvious as we didn't just yell them out to everyone we met." Naruto countered and the old man nodded "Also, my medic-nin skill level and rank was only mentioned once during the trip and the only reference to my Fuuinjutsu capabilities were my clothes when the shield activated blocking Raiga's attack. Also the 'special senses jutsu' is no doubt referring to my Shinsougan. This is information that only a select few had access to."

"That is disturbing but not unexpected…" Hiruzen continued "But we will look into it later, right now I have something to talk to you but before that could you go fetch Hinata, Sasuke and Kakashi and be here in exactly ten minutes?"

"Let me check, wouldn't want to flash to Hinata while she's bathing now… that's something to save for after the wedding!" Naruto answered like it was to be expected but then realized something "I don't want to call you a pedo but if you get one mental image of her in the birthday suit I will make Gai run around naked in your office for a week, got that?" Naruto pointed at the Hokage who paled and raised his left arm while touching his heart with his right as he nodded furiously.

Naruto then focused on his comm-seal. After five seconds he got the all clear. "Be right back Jijii!" and he was gone in an orange flash.

Hiruzen sighed before another person entered his office. The old Kage then told that person "You know what to do. Wait for me to finish with his team before you make your entrance! And by Kami if you do that stupid dance-introduction of yours I will make you take on D-ranks for a week!"

The person nodded before exiting again.

In exactly ten minutes team seven entered the office and bowed. Hiruzen nodded and then motioned to his guard to leave to which they complied. Naruto then activated the privacy seals since it was obvious that the Kage had some private news to give them.

"Ah Team Seven, good to see you, or should I call you team 'Yurei'?" the Kage chuckled. "Anyway I'll get straight to the point. Although the success of the ANBU project I had you on would contradict this I am officially withdrawing you from active force and moving your team to the A.S.T.B-Ssection." the Hokage said taking another intake from his pipe.

They exchanged looks between themselves before turning to the Kage. It was Kakashi who spoke first "Not that I'm questioning your decision Hokage-sama but why are we moved to the Sleeper Reserves?" he asked. The A.S.T.B-S or Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai Special Agents, more commonly known as Sleeper Agents or Sleeper Reserves were agents who had (or _were_) retired from ANBU active duty but still retained the right to resume duty with full authority if the need became critical.

Hiruzen nodded "As I'm sure you know, the Chuunin Exams are coming up in two weeks' time." he paused and they nodded "I also know that you are way beyond Chuunin in strength but your official rank is still Gennin. Also, while the main reason we host these exams is to promote Gennin, the principal reason is because it is a replacement for…"

"War…" interrupted Naruto.

"Exactly!" puffed Hiruzen "Also these exams are meant to attract clients for missions." the aged Kage paused again before resting his pipe and looking straight at them with a serious expression "For that reason I want to show them all the strength of Konoha's Gennin. That's why I am suspending your ANBU activity for now. So you can devote yourselves fully to making the village proud."

"Hai!" they answered as one.

"Good, if that's all everyone but Naruto can leave because I still have something to discuss with him."

Team seven minus Naruto bowed and left in Shunshins. After that Hiruzen pressed a buzzer on the intercom.

Naruto was about to ask what's up when someone entered the office. That same someone had long spiky white hair tied in a loose ponytail. He was dressed in dark green clothes over which rested a red… ah fuck it… its Jiraya the Toad Sannin.

"You!" pointed a surprised Naruto while just managing to retain his anger and the volume of his voice.

"Hey gaki!" Jiraya began with a smirk but flinched when red chakra began seeping out of Naruto. "Whoa kid, calm down! I just want to talk okay?"

"**Careful Naruto, my chakra is reacting to your anger. Keep cool!**" Kurama began and the chakra receded from the blond although the anger was still visible in his eyes.

"And pray tell me, why should I listen to you?" Naruto asked Jiraya like he was having a conversation with a roach.

Jiraya got a small tick-mark "How about the man who wrote the book you've been named after by your father: your godfather an-". The man didn't get to finish as he had to block a backhand thrown by the blond however there was enough force behind it to make him skid on his feet all the way to the back of the room.

"Don't you dare use that word you old fart! I don't care if you were dad's sensei, I don't acknowledge you as my family!" Naruto retorted back.

"Naruto please calm down!" Hiruzen stated trying to quell the boy's temper "I don't want two of my best shinobi starting a war in my office!"

The blond teen just blinked in confusion before smirking "Oh, you mean the blow! Sorry, that was an allergic reaction."

Hiruzen looked at his 'grandson' and frowned a bit "Allergic reaction?"

"Yeah, I'm allergic to bullshit!" Naruto blinked innocently "I mean it sure is easy to say that you are my godfather when it suits you isn't it?" the blond sighed before waving his hand in submission. "Like leaving me alone was…" the blond whispered but it was still loud enough for it to be heard.

"Look Naruto, you know that I had to…" Jiraya began but was instantly silenced by the look on the blond's face, a look that promised pain if he continued that sentence.

"If you try that bullshit about protecting me from outside sources I will castrate you with a rusty senbon!" Naruto growled "Do you think that Iwa or any other god forsaken place would try to kill me inside Konoha with you around? It would have been easier to just attack en masse since the shinobi forces inside the village would have been crippled by the Bijuu's attack and every elemental village would have known that there would have been a fledgling Jinchuriki that could not control the power and let's not forget that the Yondaime died and that would have been headline news. That's when Konoha was at its weakest and it would have been a perfect time for an outside attack but why didn't it happen hmm?" Naruto continued pushing the white haired man into a mental corner

"I'll tell you why! It was because they were just as weak from the Third Shinobi World War. Iwa had lost a lot of lives in their kamikaze attacks, Kiri was in a terrible state as it still is, Kumo was having Jinchuriki troubles of their own and Suna was in a state of financial collapse. Do you think that they would have risked another war with a major village by attacking A FUCKING SANNIN'S PROTÉGÉ?" yelled the boy, finally losing his temper. "That's bullshit and you know it, the same kind of bullshit that my old man fed to everyone when he cursed me with this life!"

"Naruto, I thought that you didn't hate the Yondaime." Hiruzen began gravely, worried where this was going.

"Oh I don't hate him Jijii! I loathe him and resent him for what he did to me, only for that. I follow my own mottos, one being forgive but never forget. You should know that better than anyone." Naruto answered and got an expected reaction from the old monkey. "I was a five-year old back then and was just happy to get some people who didn't look at me like I was made of glass and who didn't try to set me on fire! But as I grew and got smarter I saw what that bastard did to me!" Naruto began anew.

"How dare you call Minato a bastard, brat! He was five times more of a man then you are!" Jiraya began coldly but was blasted into the couch by a very weak Boido Nami.

"How dare you question me coward! I dare to call him that because that's what he was! For crying out loud I don't hate him and I understood why he did it! I still fucking love him for Kami's sake but I hate his hypocrisy even if he believed in me with all his heart!" Naruto cringed hard to keep the tears from spilling out.

"Hypocrisy?" asked a confused Hiruzen.

Naruto nodded "Yes. You know that bedtime story a Bijuu can only be sealed inside a newborn. That's a big bullshit and you should know of it old man, both of you! Take Kurama's previous Jinchurikis. Mito Uzumaki for example was a full grown woman when she sealed him inside herself. Mom was already in her early teens when the duty transferred to her. So it would only be logical that it didn't have to be child to be a container but what? I dug into it some more. Why didn't dad choose another? Why didn't he give the choice to somebody who could actually make that choice? I pieced together the history and finally figured it out: it wasn't a newborn that was needed for the sealing but an Uzumaki since only we have the chakra and will to hold something so powerful back. Why? Because we are distantly related to the Senju who believe it or not, together with the Uchiha are descended from the Sage of Six Paths. Dad didn't choose me because I was a newborn but because I was my mother's son and the son of the Kage! He decided my life before I could say yes or no! He treated me like a slave, like a Kami-damn piece of rare material for a prison! He may or may not have done it in ill will but it all comes down to the bottom line: I never had a choice and for that part I will forever loathe him as he spit on my life because he allegedly 'never had a choice'! News flash people: there is always a choice even if you don't like the options, which brings us to the second part of Minato: The shitty father drama, he could have taken all of Kurama with him into the Shinigami but like a 'good' Hokage, he chose the many over his son so that the village Bijuu balance would still be kept. I don't care if he loved me, he did the one thing that will never raise him in my view: he willingly sacrificed my childhood for the greater good! Damn it I hate those words more than anything! Saying 'for the greater good' is a coward's way out of the remorse from a morally bad decision. There is no 'greater good', there is only sacrifice, and the only sacrifice that counts is the selfless one! I didn't make that sacrifice, somebody else did it for me!" Naruto finished clenching his hands so hard that his nails drew blood before relaxing his fists and teleporting away.

Hiruzen then sighed "Well at least he didn't try to tear you apart like last time." he said and the Sannin shivered. That kid had too much power for his own good he thought as he nursed his black and blue forearms. Damn that kid can throw a backhand.

After that we find Naruto sitting on the Yondaime's head on top of the Kage Mountain. In his hands was a roughly used but still well kept 'Tale of a Gutsy Ninja'. It was this sight that came into Jiraya's view when he shunshined there. But before the man could speak Naruto beat him to it.

"This is a good book. I always tried to be what the character is described as: to be the one who ended the curse of hatred, the everlasting cycle of pain that rocks this world. I've kept this book since Haruko-kaa-san gave it to me for my eight birthday. The same day that three assassins tried to eliminate me…" the blond continued making the man loose light in his eyes "They were not foreign shinobi but three dead-drunk Chuunin. They were absolutely pathetic and were quickly sent beddy-bye but one of them got to say something. Want to know what he said?" Naruto asked without looking at Jiraya "He said that I was 'the bastard demon of a filthy whore and her mongrel of a fuck-buddy'." The Sannin then had a couple of murderous thought going through his mind.

"I nearly tore his throat out with my bare hands all the while thinking not of making him suffer but simply: 'why'? Why did I have to face the wrath for something neither me nor Kurama had any blame for. Why did dad abandon me like this? And most importantly: why did my only family leave me to face it all? I asked myself this even more after Jijii told me that he stood up for me in the council, saving me from execution.

It tore my mind to pieces asking myself why. I tried to view the fact that you had a spy network to run and had to protect me from outside influence but it was too convenient of an answer, too many unknowns. I rattled my brain searching for the truth and then it hit me: you hated me!" Naruto answered looking over his shoulder at the flinching man.

"No, hatred is too much of a word. It was more like you didn't want to be around me. You stood up for me to fulfill your duty as godfather but that was all, after that you left right away. You blamed me for dad's death. For that damn you, damn you to hell! I didn't want that you bastard!" Naruto words were heavy but they sounded like whispers. "And then when your pain passed you returned, ten fucking years later, not even sparing a glance sooner, all the time traveling the world, getting drunk and having fun with women while the village had its 'fun' with me." the blond trembled in a surge of emotion "I sound like a conceited, selfish brat right now don't I? Well screw you, I think I deserve a little selfishness!" the boy swayed his head from side to side. "And you know what? I will be even more selfish! I want to bring peace to this world so no one has to go through this pain! I will break this accursed cycle of hatred that rips the world apart even if I have to take on all the malice in existence! And I think that I'll start with you!" he said standing up and looked at the man with a frown of conviction. Jiraya was taken aback by his words so he could only stay silent. "If you can forgive my outbursts I will forgive you but don't be fooled pervert! I will never forget myself and my past but I will grow from it and one day I make you see your own wrongs! And then I'll be right there next to you helping to mend the mistakes of the past and bring forth an era of love, and I will be Hokage! That's my dream, no, a promise!" Naruto declared with a cocky smirk plastered on his face and his hand extended for a shake.

Jiraya also smirked grabbing the blond's hand "Outbursts? You were like a damn typhoon!"

The man remembered the first time they met each other. Let's just say that it ended with the man's clothing shredded from countless narrow misses of the blond's sword after two days of chasing. Dammit, the gaki just had to be a teleportation AND clone specialist and have near godly levels of stamina and all-seeing eye-enhancing jutsu.

The blond just put on his best goofy expression while scratching the back of his head.

"Now that we made peace I have to tell you that unofficially I want to ask you to train under me before and after the exams. I know that we don't have that many styles in common but we are both chakra freaks and I am also a seal master that I hear you strive for. Also I'll have you know that I am the man with the record for the most missions in Konoha and probably the Elemental Nations so I want to share some of my experience with you just like I did with your old man when he was a Gennin. Plus unlike my former teammate, I know I'm getting old and want to leave my skills and summons with you. So what do you say?"

"What do you mean unofficially?" Naruto asked "And what about Kakashi-sensei? I mean if it's only up to me I accept since Kakashi-sensei would then get to train more with Sasuke considering the Sharingan and all, and Hinata has her family to help her."

"First off about Kakashi… do you honestly think that any level headed sensei would refuse one of their students the right to be apprenticed to a Sannin?" the man asked extending his chest like a peacock making Naruto snicker.

'**A Sannin who nearly got his balls sliced off by a ten year old academy student.**' Kurama completed being the source of the blond's good time.

"And as for your other question, Hiruzen-Sensei actually orders you to be my apprentice but I wanted this to be first and foremost your choice."

Naruto then smiled and nodded earning a smirk from the old Sannin who then began "I'm guessing that sensei already knows about this from his Crystal Ball Jutsu so what do you say we get some ramen and then we start our first training session."

Naruto smiled even more as he heard the magic word and quicker than you can say Orange Flash they were already on the rooftop overlooking Ichiraku's.

Jiraya took a second to shake-off the dizziness. He had experience with the technique from his student but it had been so long since it was used with him.

Time skip and nine ramen bowls later (out of which two were Jiraya's) they were in a beautiful clearing further west of the 44th training ground (Forest of Death).

"Okay kiddo, let's start although I'm not sure if I should teach you the Rasengan or Summoning first…"

Naruto started chuckling nervously "Uh… yeah about those two…" he began before raising his right arm straight to the air, palm facing the sky. Half a second later and intricate, glowing seal composed primarily of seven swirls of similar sizes appeared on his hand and immediately after this you could see chakra being gathered in a ball. What was unusual though was that six different colored chakra started gathering from the seven swirls. The chakra started to react to one another merging and forming, the inside of the sphere was like a violent storm with red lightning and sand being violently mixed with the cloud like water by the incredibly sharp winds while the pure yin-yang chakra shell and inner parts condensed and compressed it until it finally reached a point where seven bright circles of seven colors were emitted from the pure white core and now circled the outer sphere: white, metallic gray, crimson red, aqua blue, pale cyan, dirt brown and electric silver.

This process took about three to four seconds from start to finish.

Jiraya looked incredulously at the blond who now held the finished product in one hand. It now looked like an atom with the nucleus containing a calm, misty substance that looked like powdered rainbow circling a pinhead sized white core like the branches of a galaxy. The most surprising thing was that no matter where what angle you looked at the core from, you would see the exact same picture of a slightly angled 'galaxy'.

"What the hell is that?" the Sannin asked no longer containing his thoughts.

"Konton: Rasenginga! (Chaos Element: Spiraling Galaxy!)"

"Wha…" stuttered Jiraya.

Naruto smirked "I did some research about the Rasengan and from stories mostly told by Jijii I found the basic principles about it. It seems that dad was inspired by the Bijuudama (Tailed Beast Bomb or TBB), the ultimate Bijuu chakra attack and luckily Nii-san is the strongest of them. So with his help, I worked for three months and finally got the basic Yin-Yang Rasengan down. After that I tried expanding it with elemental chakra but found that it's impossible to focus both Yin-Yang chakra necessary to compress the shape and supply elemental chakra to power it through the same chakra Tenketsu. So I did the next best thing and used a Kage Bunshin to supply the elemental part and the spin while I focused on maintaining the sphere but it was too costly even for me to split my chakra through the Bunshin AND to perform this jutsu. So I went back to the drawing board and used a different method: Seals. I developed a seal that would do the work of transforming chakra into all forms of elemental chakra and also do the spinning while I focused solely on compression and containment.

And it worked… partially. The concentration and control necessary to maintain it is astronomical! Luckily I tried this out in the middle of the desert on a mission to Wind Country with a Kage Bunshin. You have to understand that the seal seems to mix and fuse the elements together creating a tremendous amount of pressure. While it is superbly stable in this final form, if you slip just a little during its formation it could easily wipe you out and a town the size of Konoha clearly off the map. The place where I first tried it is now an attraction in Wind in the form of a 'bottomless' pit in which the surrounding sand slowly falls into called 'Stardust Sand Falls' since the official story is that a meteorite created the hole."

'Holy crap!' thought Jiraya.

"This finished product has three times that destructive potential since the fused elements form a new type of negative mater or dark-mater in its own contained 'miniverse' which is kept from the normal one by my chakra. Once something touches it, that something is lost form this world being mater or energy. Notice the rings around it? Well that is leftover energy from the air around us, as well as sunlight and heat, falling past the event horizon (the sphere edge) and taking the colors of the main sequence. I won't bore you with the translation of these words but I will tell you that this Rasenginga can be used while held in hand to create a virtual drain from which nothing can escape or…"

Naruto finished his words and then jumped high into the air (about twice the size of Gamabunta) and twisting his body once for momentum, chucked the Rasenginga further then they could see with normal eyes. Two seconds later a massive explosion was seen in the distance of the forest training ground and a light dome the size of Konoha expanded far off. All in all it looked like an angry Bijuu fired a huge-ass TBB.

"Thrown like a shuriken although what you see is the energy released by the positive mater and negative mater canceling each other out and escaping from the ruptured spherical containment field. I can fire about six of these in succession before I tire out."

Just then an ANBU team appeared but quickly left after Jiraya shooed them away.

"Okay, I guess that means that I only have to teach you summoning today and then we will spar." Jiraya told the boy who was now two feet in front of him. The said boy then touched the ground and a seal array appeared. The next second they were several hundred feet off the ground.

The old man took a few moments to register the twenty foot gold feathered wings that were flapping on his left and right. He looked at who or what owned these wings and saw something that seemed to be a combination of a bird and a crocodile with the body of the reptile and the muscular legs of a panther but it's whole body was covered in hard feathers that looked more like scales of the same color as the wings.

"Kuchiyose: Kinryu!" Naruto spoke softly.

"_Why have you summoned me Naruto-sama?_" the dragon spoke with a very beautiful male voice.

"Greetings Kinryu! I was demonstrating my abilities to my new teacher, the Toad Sage, and I thought that it was the best to show the most majestic of all dragons. Please set us down and then return home." Naruto responded.

Kinryu smirked and did as he was told.

"Okayyy…" said Jiraya.

"As you can see I can summon dragons although I have permission to sign other contracts as long as they are not enemies of the Elder Summons, one of which is the snake summons. Kinryu though is the most majestic of them all with his golden feathered body but because of that he has one huge ego that must be stroked in each of my sentences when addressing him."

"How? And why not snakes?" Jiraya asked out of curiosity.

Naruto then told him about how he got Meian and a little more "You see, snake sages tend to think that when they master their abilities they ascend to dragonhood and thus present themselves as such. This and the fact that they are mostly bloodthirsty creatures that ask for live sentient sacrifices have angered the true dragons and have thus been declared as enemies."

"I see…" muttered Jiraya "Well, do you still want to sign the toad's contract?"

"Sure!" said Naruto with a smirk that hid his deeper intentions.

Jiraya then summoned a rhino-sized toad who presented the contract. Naruto did an once-over on it and saw the Sannin's signature and also his fathers as well as all the names of the toads he could summon. He hesitated a little but steeled himself and, drawing blood from his finger, he signed it.

"Try it out!" Jiraya motioned.

Naruto having read the contract for the toad names using Soujin Seishin knew exactly which toad he wanted to summon. So after redrawing blood from his finger he filled his hands with chakra and after the hand seals he touched the ground saying "Kuchiyose:…"

Jiraya who was watching from a little distance felt a discomfort in his gut because the toad that Naruto summoned…

"…no Jutsu!" and a puff of smoke later and a toad the size of an adult's arm appeared in the clearing. The toad had a black and burnt orange color scheme and appeared to be wearing an obi sash. It also appeared to be floating in midair.

"What the hell? Who the fuck are you?" the toad asked Naruto who in turn grew a tick mark from the toad's disrespectful voice. I mean the strongest of all summons ends your name with 'sama' and this little bastard didn't even know him and already started spewing out obscenities in front of him. He quickly got control of his annoyance though and did a light bow towards the toad

"Greetings toad-san! I am Naruto, your newest summoner!" the blond said with a smile.

"Huh? Well I guess that you randomly summoned me out of your first try otherwise…" the toad didn't get to finish as Naruto interrupted him.

"Oh on the contrary, I summoned you on purpose." said Naruto making the toad raise an eyebrow "You have something which belongs to me…"

Time skip…

It was early morning when team seven made entered the Academy building and headed to the examination room. On their way they stopped to see a large mass of Gennin standing in front of what they remembered was the broom closet. It wasn't their fault entirely as the closet had a genjutsu placed on it to make it seem like it was the examination room and had two boys standing guard which they immediately recognized as younger versions of the Eternal Chuunin, obviously henge'd.

'Idiots…' they thought and wanted to make their way to the third floor where the real exam was taking place when they heard a yell and then a whimper as none other than Sakura flew backwards into the air, thrown by Kotetsu after she tried to force an entry.

'What is she doing? Kurenai-sensei must have taught them to see through a genjutsu of this level for sure!' they thought "Oh I get it, she is trying to reduce the competition by playing dumb, though I'm not sure about the 'playing' part. Must have been Shino's idea."

Just as the henge'd Chuunin went in for the 'kill' a green blur appeared and stopped the hit.

"Hey Lee!" Naruto shouted and the boy turned and smiled.

"Greetings friends! Are you here to show your flames of youth in this challenging exam?" he shouted.

"Yes Lee-san!" answered Hinata.

"What about you? How is your new taijutsu coming into play?" asked Sasuke.

"Yosh! My new moves will light the youth in everybody that will blaze through the springtime which powers it! YOUTH!" answered Lee making everyone think 'Just what the fuck did he say?'

"Hn, just make sure you try and build up a resistance to blacking out when drinking and do it away from Konoha. Your … 'flames of youth' burn down houses when you get wasted." smirked Sasuke and after greeting Lee's teammates, he and his team made their way to the real exam hall.

They met their sensei just outside the room where he wished them good luck out of habit more than need.

Just as they stepped inside they felt the 'tickle' of the weakest KI they ever felt and raised an eyebrow when a small part of the examinees looked at them with murderous intent. They just brushed it off like an annoying insect (no offense to any Aburame) and they tried to make their way to a corner but before they made it there they were greeted by the rest of the rookie nine.

Naruto got to exchange some words with Chouji.

"Hey Chouji!" Naruto smiled.

*munch* "Hey *munch* Naruto!" said the plump boy as he was chomping on some chips.

"Did your dad get the Bear summoning contract?" asked the blond.

Chouji for his part stopped eating "How do you know about that? Wait, it was you who left it in our mailbox?"

"Guilty as charged." Naruto smirked "Got it in my first mission outside the village and knowing your clan's history, I knew it belonged to you guys."

"Well, thanks a bunch! It belonged to dad's grandfather and was lost when he died in battle. I want to thank you again and dad said that whoever was responsible for this will be a friend of the Akimichi's forever! He also said and I quote 'A lesser man would have kept it, ransomed it or sold it'. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth but why didn't you?"

"Like I said I knew it belonged to the Akimichis and keeping it for whatever reason was just wrong." Naruto answered swaying his head from side to side.

"Well know that you will always be welcomed in my home and you can always chow down with us. You are the only one outside the clan who can keep up with us anyway." the big boned boy smirked.

Naruto then bowed and returned to his team's side.

After 'greeting' everyone back, as well as breaking up the squabble between Sakura and Ino over Sasuke, they were approached by a Gennin called Kabuto.

"You should keep it down because you're attracting too much attention!" he told them and when they looked back to the hall they saw that everyone there was looking straight at them and leaking KI.

Naruto then sank his eyes behind his hair. He stood there for a second or two before his shoulders started moving up and down. This was accompanied by a sobbing kind of sound. It got louder and louder until they actually found out that he was chuckling which in turn got louder and louder until Naruto broke into a full blown crazy laugh, his face aimed at the ceiling (Death Note: Kira/Light Yagami final laugh when he got caught Japanese version) giving everyone there, besides shivers, WTF expressions.

Just as quickly as it began it stopped with a gasp. Naruto stood there looking at the ceiling for a couple of seconds before looking back at them, his eyes glowing crimson with slits.

"The fuck ya' lookin' at?" and finished with 15% of his KI.

Most of the Chuunin hopefuls immediately turned their heads. The remaining part were frozen stiff except a certain red-haired boy who had thin black rings around his eyes, a kanji for 'Love' tattooed on his forehead and a huge-ass gourd. The said boy smirked and nodded softly at Naruto although his two teammates, a beautiful blond girl with a huge fan on her back and a boy with too much make-up on his face ("_It's war paint!_") looked like they pissed themselves.

Naruto had an encounter or two with them earlier and, remembering it couldn't help but think:

'This is going to be interesting!'

*End Chapter*

Sorry for the short (for me – I usually try to make 10k+ words) chapter but my finals are coming up and I wanted to post this faster. Wish me luck!


	16. Chapter 14 - The Chuunin Exams Part 2

Ch 14

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for._

_Special thanks to __**Princess-Serenity-Serena **__for helping me by being the beta for this story and possibly others._

_**This chapter has not been beta-ed.**_

**Previously on NotS:**

"The fuck ya' lookin' at?" and finished with 15% of his KI.

Most of the Chuunin hopefuls immediately turned their heads. The remaining part were frozen stiff except a certain red-haired boy who had thin black rings around his eyes, a kanji for 'Love' tattooed on his forehead and a huge-ass gourd. The said boy smirked and nodded softly at Naruto although his two teammates, a beautiful blond girl with a huge fan on her back and a boy with too much make-up on his face ("It's war paint!") looked like they pissed themselves.

Naruto had an encounter or two with them earlier and, remembering it couldn't help but think:

'This is going to be interesting!'

**Main Story:**

"_Hey Boss!" the wild but fun Sarutobi Konohamaru greeted his idol. He was flanked on either side by his crew, the Konohamaru Corps._

"_Hey guys! Having fun?" Naruto greeted back as he exited Ichiraku's together with his teammates._

"_Yes'sir!" they answered without missing a beat. They were in his class after all._

"_Boss, Ebisu-sensei is on a mission today so I was wondering if you could play ninja with us." Konohamaru beamed._

"_What kind of weird is that? A ninja playing ninja?" a voice called out from behind the kids._

"_Hello Kiba-kun! These are the Konohamaru Corps and are sort of Naruto-kun's apprentices." Hinata smiled having heard about them from her boyfriend._

"_Hey boss, who is this? Is she…" Maru began but he got his answers when Naruto planted a deep kiss on Hinata who looked like she was on cloud nine._

"_WAY TA GO BOSS! You got one hot girlfrie…!" Maru's words got stuck inside his throat thanks to the massive pressure emitted by the blond. It was so intense that even Kiba began to shiver._

_Naruto was smiling but the murderous aura surrounding him was cracking the pavement "Maru, you didn't know this so I'll let this one slide but only about three males in the entire world are allowed to speak like that about Hinata in my presence, and those are me, Sasuke and Hiashi-sama, the latter two due to being childhood friends, and respectively, her father. The next time you even think something like that I will shave your head and tie you under a waterfall to clear your mind. If you want to compliment a girl or a woman you say they are pretty, cute or beautiful. 'Hot' makes you seem like a pervert and a horn-dog and I put those 'to sleep', either for the night or …" and Meian Crimson-version appeared in his hand "…__**permanently!**__"_

_Konohamaru could do nothing but nod furiously followed by Kiba and Udon. On the other hand Moegi was looking with full admiration (and blushing cheeks) at the blond._

_Meanwhile Sasuke was smirking and Hinata was laughing gently behind a dainty hand, hand that hid a force to be reckoned with._

"_Konohamaru-kun…" began our lovable Hyuuga "… while I appreciate your 'compliment', do take those words to heart. One, Naruto-kun can be very…" and shooting a deadpan glare at Naruto "…and I do mean __very__ jealous. I know that he did similar things like what he warned you to people for less when it came to me, no matter how annoying it may be…" she whispered that last part "And also what he said is true, even if you hear that girls like 'bad boys', that only applies to your personality and I mean you have to have confidence, courage and be creative and fun not to be a jerk." she finished with a smile making the boy blush and Moegi to think that she found a worthy 'Nee-sama"._

"_A-anyway will you still play ninja with us boss?" Kono tried to change the subject._

_Before the blond could answer there was another interruption._

"_Isn't that kind of dumb, a ninja playing ninja?" Sakura intervened._

'_And Kurenai-nee thought that they wouldn't fit together in a team. She is practically Kiba's echo.' thought our lovable blond. "Actually Sakura, 'playing ninja' is what I call situational training. Kind of like battle simulations but less intense since they are only academy students. I have them catch me or hide from me using all their tricks. Having a stronger foe doing that to you strengthens teamwork and creativity as well as working on strategy." he answered._

'_Oh!" Kiba and Sakura exclaimed._

"_Hey boss, who's the pink washboard?" Konohamaru asked and a dark shadow formed around him._

"_What. Did. You. Say. Brat?" Sakura asked, her hair shadowing her eyes and her knuckles cracking._

"_Ooops! Sorry about that billboard brow!" Maru retorted sensing the hostility but not the danger._

_Naruto sensing his 'apprentice's' imminent danger decided to begin another lecture "Maru, now you will learn some important lessons."_

"_What? Lessons again?" the boy whined._

"_Indeed! There are three of them actually. One is that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, in this case, your words being the action. Second how to speak in the presence of the opposite gender, extended hard-way version. And finally, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Those are today's lessons."_

"_Amm… what?" Maru asked confused, to the ire and dread of his teammates._

"_Run!" Naruto ordered smirking._

_Maru was about to ask again but was interrupted by a small tremor. He looked behind him and saw a two foot radius crater with Sakura's fist in the middle of it, the said Gennin's hair going all over the place and her eyes ablaze with the fires of fury. Maru's face lost color and high-tailed it out of there followed by an absolutely rabid Sakura._

_Naruto decided to follow them to secure the safety of the Hokage's grandson._

_Meanwhile Maru was gaining some pretty good distance from the girl when he rounded the corner into an alley. There he bumped into someone._

_(You know the sand trio so I won't describe them)_

"_That hurt Gaki!" said Kankuro lifting him up by the scarf and holding him up while he tried to escape._

"_Oi Kankuro! Put him down before you get us in trouble!" Temari told her brother._

_Sakura seeing the predicament calmed down and tried to make peace "Please put him down, we were just fooling around!"_

_Naruto was just staring at them quietly, for now at least._

'_So these guys are Konoha Gennin eh?' thought the puppet master._

'_Suna eh?' thought Naruto noticing the headbands and stealthily activating his Shinsougan 'Must be here for the Chuunin Exams, but their chakra is at least Chuunin already so either they are not participants or they are somewhat skillful. Let's see, for the dude, a big ass puppet on his back and judging by his chakra a quick to use Kawarimi on ready. Judging by his muscles, his body is not suited for direct combat. For the chick, an equally huge folded fan made from chakra conductive materials and a body not built for close combat and Suna being renown for wind masters we have a puppet master who probably uses poisons and a long range wind specialist. Interesting…'_

"_But I want to teach this brat a lesson in manners before you-know-who shows up!" Kankuro smirked._

"_Let go!" Maru kept screaming._

"_Ho? You're quite the energetic brat!" the suna teen smirked._

"_That's quite enough!" screamed Naruto before charging like a berserker, his moves full of openings._

_Kankuro's smirk deepened and moved his fingers behind his back tripping the blond who fell on his back._

'_Who are these guys?' thought a worried Sakura knowing that if they could take down Naruto then they were hard core._

"_What's this? Konoha Gennin are so weak!" the suna boy spoke._

_A few tense moments passed before the Naruto on the ground yelled "Code Spirit! Let him have it Konohamaru!"_

_The poor boy who until then was struggling then stopped moving. Kankuro looked puzzled by this until Maru smirked with a sounding 'click' and blue chakra began gathering around him like he was on fire._

_Maru then brought his right hand up and chopped Kankuro's hand away. The puppet user then retracted his arm in pain and before Maru could land, he had to jump back to avoid a spin kick from the preteen._

"_Why you little…!" Kankuro began reaching for Karatsu._

"_Oi Kankuro stop it! Are you going to use…" Temari began but her words stopped cold when another Naruto appeared out of thin air behind Kankuro with two kunai in hand. One positioned close to his jugular and another pressing it's tip on the suna boy's reaching arm._

_Both siblings gasped 'Wha…?'_

"_I wouldn't do that puppet user-kun! You could lose an arm…' he said pressing the kunai deeper into his skin (although it was still just a sting) '… or __worse__!" Naruto touched his neck with the other._

"_How…?" was all that Kankuro could ask before the Naruto on the ground disappeared in a burst of smoke._

"_Solid clones, quite the useful technique! Especially for analyzing an opponent's style up close, don't you think?" Naruto smirked before he sensed Temari reaching for her fan. "I wouldn't do that as well Kunoichi-san! I would hate myself if I took an arm or two from your friend here!" he said as he opened the flood gates on his KI and directing it all to her._

_In that moment Temari saw and felt Shukaku tearing her apart. She fell to her knees in shock, panting, salivating and sweating, tears flowing freely from her non-blinking eyes._

"_I admit you have nerve…" Naruto smirked "… to claim that Konoha nin are weak when your friend here can't even stand 25% of __my__ KI. If I went a little higher I wonder… if she would have committed suicide or would she simply have a stroke."_

_Naruto then frowned and teleported a little distance away from the duo "You in the trees, come down!"_

_The two recovered a little to look towards the tree in question to reveal Gaara._

"_Kankuro, Temari you two are disgraces to the village." he spoke in an emotionless tone before shunshining with sand to their level._

"_G-Gaara?!" stuttered Kankuro, Temari being still in shock. "L-listen Gaara, these guys started it!"_

"_Silence!" the red-head ordered "Or I'll kill you!"_

"_Hai! I understand, we were at fault!" Kankuro tried to save his skin._

_Then Gaara turned to the Konoha bunch "Excuse them…". Then looking at Naruto 'He moved faster than I could sense, he is good! Perhaps he will prove my existence.' "You! What is your name?" he asked._

_Meanwhile Naruto was in an intense conversation with his tenant._

'_He seems familiar…' the blond though._

'_**Of course he does!**__'_

'_Nii-san?'_

'_**Kit he is Shukaku's pup*! You can practically taste the chakra leaking from his seal. Must be a crappy one at that!**__'_

'_Ichibi no Tanuki (One-Tailed Racoon-Dog) Shukaku?'_

'_**The one and only! Listen Naruto if you can please do this for me…**__'_

…

"_Isn't it polite to present yourself first?" Naruto asked humbly._

"_My name is Sabaku no Gaara (Gaara of the Sand Waterfall (lit) /Desert (trans.))! These are Temari and Kankuro!"_

"_A pleasure!" Naruto bowed lightly "My name is Naruto Uzumaki… brother!"_

"_H-hey wait a minute!" Kankuro began lightly "I think you must be confused, Gaara is __our__ brother not yours!"_

_He was shut up by the glare Gaara sent them "I have no family." he told them and they flinched._

"_That's not what I meant. I was referring to the 'power of a human sacrifice' (spoken differently than Jinchuriki- I think that you can do that in Japanese)!" Naruto smirked as they tensed._

_A few tense moments of silence followed before Gaara asked "Which one?"_

_Naruto closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them to reveal them slit-red "Kurama!"_

_Gaara raised an eyebrow before his eyes went wide._

"_Uzumaki! Mother is interested in you. Mother says that Ky…!"_

"_Ah, tut tut! Sorry for the rude interruption brother but that is not something to say in the open!" he then teleported to Gaara's side and placed a hand on his shoulder with absolutely no fighting intent. The shield sensed that and didn't react to the surprise of the Suna-nin. He then whispered something into the red-haired boy's ear and promptly did a one eighty and began leaving while waving to him. The rest of the Konoha party left with him._

_Later that night Naruto was standing on the Fourth's head on top of the Hokage mountain. A couple of feet away you could see some strange wooden stakes with seals planted into the ground: chakra blocking barrier._

"_So you came…" Naruto said sagely._

_Just then Gaara materialized from sand._

"_Uzumaki, mother is interested in your words." Gaara stated emotionlessly._

_Naruto then sweat-dropped "You know, I call my tenant big brother but to call a Bijuu 'Mother' is kind of exaggerated!"_

_Gaara then began his monologue (Lee murder attempt at the hospital) and told him about his sealing, life and general purpose in life. By the time he was finished Naruto was weeping for him… literally._

_Two anime tear-streaks slid down his cheeks and snot hanged from his nose making even the stoic Gaara sweat-drop._

"_You poor thing! Poor misguided dope!" Naruto sobbed before straightening out with a serious expression "You know … I am the Sandaime Kyuubi Jinchuriki!" he said raising Gaara's interest "Do you know what the Shodaime one said to the Niidaime? She said that to be able to seal a Bijuu in a container that container must first be filled with something. Do you know what?" Naruto asked half-expectantly. He hoped that the tattoo on the red's forehead would reveal its true meaning. Sadly it wasn't so._

"_No." Answered Gaara._

"_Love." spoke Naruto._

"_I told you that I am loveless! I live for myself! I love only myself!" and irked Gaara spoke._

"_No, you are not…" Naruto answered swaying his head from side to side "I at least know that your siblings love you!"_

_Gaara narrowed his eyes._

"_One of the perks of being Kurama's Jinchuriki is being able to sense emotions. When we met earlier I sensed their love for you, buried deep under their fear. I couldn't sense any hatred."_

"_You're wrong!__" Gaara screamed for the first time but then his eyes went blood-shot and his hands clutched his head as his sand flew violently in helixes around him._

"_Oi Shukaku-san stop it!" Naruto yelled back at Gaara who immediately seemed to calm down._

_The suna shinobi was still panting while looking to the ground "Uzumaki… MOTHER WANT'S YOUR BLOOOOOD!" he screamed as sand rushed towards Naruto._

_Naruto could only sigh. The blond muttered 'Sorry brother!' before teleporting out of the way of the sand and right in front of Gaara before shoving his hand in the red's body*. It was now noticeable that his hand had strange black tribal markings._

"_Tensha Fūin: Shishō Fūin (Transcription Seal: Four-Symbols Seal)!"_

_And with that Gaara's eyes rolled in the back of his head and he fell unconscious, his last defense, the sand armor flowing off of him instantly as the black markings on Naruto's hand disappeared._

_A weak chuckle escaped the blond's mouth "Although I said that I would fix your seal if you came in peace, you didn't really think I wouldn't come prepared for the worse. That S-rank seal ought to hold your so called 'mother' till Nii-san and I have a word with 'her'."_

_Naruto then placed a hand on Gaara's head, eyes closed. He focused a little before his eyes shot open, glowing with all the Shinsougan's might "Ranpu: Satori!' (Light Element: Satori*)_

_The background behind the blond swirled before he found himself standing on a lake of blood surrounded by a never ending darkness in which the kanji 'Love' was scattered like stars but larger, much larger._

_Naruto focused a little and found himself standing in front of a huge golden cage that was reinforced by glass-like crystal so that nothing could seep through. Behind the bars he could see Shukaku held hands, feet and neck by sand-chains that seemed to appear out of the darkness* though they were doing nothing to restrain the Bijuu as it was banging hard on the bars without even scratching them._

_The Gennin looked around and finally saw Gaara clawing on the glass surface of the gates and cleared his throat gaining the suna shinobi's attention._

"_Uzumaki!" the red-head began frantically "What did you do to mother?! I can't hear her! I can't get to her!" he rushed the blond but found himself bound by ropes of light._

"_Calm down Gaara! I just placed a powerful seal over the existing one and cut-off Shukaku's connection to you. Neither of you have been harmed. I just wanted to have a talk with your 'mother'._

_Naruto then approached Gaara and touched his forehead with a finger. In the glass of the seal appeared a couple of holes in a round type pattern* and instantly Shukaku's war cries were heard._

"_Shukaku-san calm down and listen!" Naruto yelled and managed to gain the insane Bijuu's attention._

"_**YOU! You're Kyuubi's brat! What did ya' do! The chains are finally loose but I can't get passed these freakin' bars!**__"_

"_That's because it's a seal ten times more powerful than the original seal and it isn't maintained by Gaara's state of consciousness!"_

"_**FUUUUCCCKKK!**__" yelled Shukaku banging harder on the bars "__**LEEE'MEE OUT! LEEE'MEE OUT! LEEE'MEE OUT TEME!**__"_

_Naruto was waiting for the beast to realize that it ain't going to happen before trying to speak to it when another voice ran through it._

"_**Would you calm down brother!**__"_

_Shukaku for his part froze and then snarled "__**That ya' Kyuubi?**__"_

"_**That's right little brother!**__" answered Kurama._

"_**Wha' da' fuck ya' want bastard?**__" yelled Ichibi._

_For a few moments there was a tense silence before Shukaku got it's answer._

"_**First of all I want you to calm down and listen to the kit! He has something to say that you might do good to listen to. I will tell you the second part after that!**__"_

_Shukaku scoffed and looked at Naruto who was still waiting patiently "__**Well? What are ya' waitin' fo'? Cough it up!**__"_

_Naruto for his part closed his eyes and inhaled deeply "__**Da' fuck? Don't ya' be goin' ta' sleep on me ya' hear!**__"_

"_It hurts doesn't it?" Naruto asked catching the Bijuu off-guard. "Humans can be so selfish can't they? Being treated like you are nothing to be considered, like swords and arrows, kunai and scrolls… weapons of mass destruction, never considering your feelings."_

"_**Da' fuck?**__" Shukaku answered puzzeled. He felt every word that Naruto shot at him._

"_It hurts so bad that insanity is a pleasant choice but even that gets boring after a while, especially if you are ageless and immortal, right?"_

_There was a moment of silence._

"_While I can't even come close to understanding the second part I can picture it, especially since I lived the first one. Nobody caring if you are hurting, nobody praying for your safety… nobody considering your feelings." Naruto said making Shukaku frown and close its eyes._

"_Jinchuriki… Power of Human Sacrifices… what a fitting term, in more than one way… The power of our tenants, the power of our wills and both our sacrifices, never done willingly. Chosen from birth* to bear the burden of hosting Bijuu, our life is forfeit with our first… and last breaths as humans. We are given the 'honor' of being the mighty 'keepers of peace'. We sacrifice our happiness, our flesh, blood, and bones… our chakra and our spirit and in some cases… our sanity so that others may live peacefully the life we never had…_

_Just like our Bijuu tenants, beings born out of love for the world, only to be seen as weapons of mass destruction, things (spit-like tone) of war._

_We lose our everything and eventually become hollow, and when more is asked of us to give we hollow others eventually losing all to despair and vanishing… until the cycle continues."_

_Shukaku was somewhere between weeping and seething. The brat was right. It was insane as a front, kind of like Naruto's stupid persona. It was the only thing keeping it from truly going nuts. But now he had to deal with the fact that he would usually ignore, the fact that even his human hosts suffered. Troublesome ningen!_

"_But… there is one thing that can fill the void that is left behind. That tiny yet universal thing that can cure the loneliness and can extinguish the blaze of hatred that burns your being. Love! That simple four-letter word so abundant yet so hard to reach!_

_I don't want to seem selfish, especially towards you and your siblings but I have suffered. Perhaps mine is insignificant to yours, perhaps mine is a whole other lever as compared to others', but it does not matter. The thing that matters is that I love my adoptive family, Kurama-nii, my birth parents, my girlfriend, my friends, my students, my summons and so I can safely say that… __I love this world__! They gave me the will to love. Not selfish self-care but true love, one that can only be achieved when you don't care about anything else other than them and they return it the same way. Now I have a new mission, to spread it to the world, to drown the wars of bloody hatred and to protect it for as long as I can! Will you join me Shukaku-san?"_

_The beast was thrown in uncomfortable silence. It lasted a few seconds though the tension made it seem like ages when it finally answered "__**Why should I?**__"_

"_**It's what Old Man Tou-san (or insert Sage Six Path name) would have wanted!**__" Kurama answered._

_Shukaku growled " __**Don't ya' dare speak about 'im Kyuubi! He loved ya' more than anyone of us! You 'ere his favorite! He gave you the most power!**__"_

"_**No I wasn't! That man was incapable of favoritism and you know it. Just like the Kit he loved the world equally. Our power difference was just a side-effect of his jutsu. He loved us all equally!**__"_

_Shukaku cringed and looked sad but its pride didn't let it speak. And it still resented Kurama for…_

"_**And for what it's worth… I'm sorry!**__" Kurama continued._

"_**Wha?**__"_

"_**I'm sorry for calling you weak because you have one tail, I'm sorry for walking out on you and our siblings and I'm sorry for anything else that made us drift apart and you to hate me! I'm sorry little brother!**__" Kurama spoke in a remorseful tone._

_Shukaku then closed its eyes and frowned deeply. A moment later his mouth opened to reveal a hard cringe. He banged hard against the bars with both hands before roaring out loud._

"_**DAMN IT! DAMMMNNN IIITT KURAMA! DAMN IT OLD MAN! I GET IT BROTHER! I FUCKING GET IT! I miss the old man! I missed **__**you**__** brother!**__" Shukaku shouted, its tears wetting the sand of its cheeks._

"_**Missed you too Shu!**__" Kurama smiled audibly._

_Naruto's face shined with happiness and then turned to Gaara and dispelled the light ropes._

"_While they were having the conversation I took the liberty of looking through this place and I found something that you might want to see…" Naruto turned to the side and Gaara followed suit. In the deep darkness a small white light formed that got bigger and bigger until it was the size of an adult in diameter. The light slowly charged with colors until a very beautiful woman appeared on 'screen'. She appeared to be exhausted as her short dust-brown hair looked disheveled, her eyes had bags and she was sweaty._

"_Mother…(_ _Karura)" Gaara stated weakly._

_The woman was looking towards them "These are your memories Gaara, they are from your birth!" Naruto clarified._

_She looked at what they imagined was Gaara with dead-like eyes "What a small, feeble child…" she began and the red-head began to cower fearing the words that would come, but to his surprise the Karura smiled whole-heartedly and gently embraced him "Gaara… No matter what happens, I'll always protect you! And I will always love you!" after which the memory faded in the sounds of beeping hospital machinery and with a final 'She's going into cardiac arre…' the light disappeared._

_Naruto smiled sadly "I traced the source of the memory and found a gentle, motherly chakra coming from a soul-shard sealed inside a different part of you. That chakra constantly mixes with sand around you and tries to 'embrace you with it' to protect you. It appears that your mother kept her word at the expense of her own spirit. She truly loved you Gaara!"_

_Gaara was now weeping silently, tears flowing freely from his eyes "Uzumaki, I'm * sob* confused *sob*! What do I do now?*sob*"_

"_That Gaara you will have to find the answer on your own but know this: No matter what it is, so long as it doesn't threaten another innocent's dreams, I will support you, and I think that your siblings will as well!" Naruto smiled._

"_Why… why would you do that?"_

"_Because that's what friends are for!" the blond answered extending his hand._

"_Friends?" Gaara asked wearily._

"_Or brothers if you want?" Naruto joked._

_Gaara then smirked and grabbed the blond's hand. "Can I chose… both, Uzumaki?"_

_Naruto then became serious "On one condition!"_

"_What?" the red-head asked a little frightened._

_The blond then threw his hand over Gaara's shoulder "Call me Naruto! Na-ru-to!"_

_The suna shinobi blinked in confusion a few times before, for the first time in years, laughed whole-heartedly (and not murderously)._

_Meanwhile in Konoha…_

"_Where the fuck is Gaara?" asked Kankuro as he banged his fist against a wall._

_Just then the door flew open and the sand siblings saw Naruto supporting an unconscious Gaara making their hearts skip a few beats._

"_What in the …" Temari began._

"_Shhh…. can't you see your brother is sleeping peacefully? Where's the bed?" Naruto scolded her._

_She pointed mechanically towards her bedroom where Naruto gently placed Gaara before closing the door._

_He then sighed and turned to them who were looking like they saw the Shinigami._

"_I am guessing that you have a lot of questions but let's take this outside so we won't wake him." he whispered to them and then they all made their way to the roof of the hotel. "I will state the most important things now and then you will ask your questions. First, I changed his shitty seal with a more powerful and stable one that doesn't depend on him being awake so he can now catch up on his rest. The seal that I used was the Hakke no Fūin Shiki which was designed by the Fourth Hokage. Yes it's perfectly safe and yes he can still access Shukaku's chakra and also I gave him the key to the seal so he can adjust the seal or open it fully and yes his Sand Shield is still active since it was not powered by the Bijuu although his chakra control might be a little shot now. Shukaku is now his friend and not his insanity instigator but a real friend and so am I. He also told me about the invasion plans and told me that if you have a problem with telling me then you can take it up with him. Well that's about it so now shoot!"_

_They were still in shock from seeing Gaara sleeping soundly so when the blond weirdo started spewing the info on them they just took it on the fly._

"_Ookay…" began Temari "Who are you really?"_

_The boy smirked "Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's greatest Jikukan user of all time and current top Seal Master specializing in the lost Uzumaki of Uzushiogakure Sealing-Style and Gaara's first real friend at your service!" and did a small bow._

"_Friend?" Kankuro asked incredulously._

"_As in comrade, buddy, chum, the asshole who can embarrass him and still make him smile friend." Naruto answered earning a small giggle from Temari._

_Kankuro on the other hand was doing a good imitation of a drowning fish._

"_Well looks like I outstayed my usefulness so I will bid you adieu! Oh I almost forgot, Gaara asked me to tell you something before he fainted and I quote "Tell those two that I'm sorry and that I want to be their little brother again if they let me!" and with that he disappeared in an orange flash._

_They took a moment to recover still staring at the place where the blond had disappeared from "That's some 'Shunshin'!" Kankuro stated to break the silence and Temari nodded dumbly._

_They then crept inside the apartment where they stayed and slowly snuck inside the now red-hair boy's sleeping quarters. They looked at Gaara's sleeping face with blank looks before Kankuro frowned and pulled the covers over his little brother's shoulders and slowly crept outside the room with a smirk. Temari on the other hand gently brushed his hair to the side and gave him a small goodnight kiss on the forehead making him smile unconsciously and then followed her other brother's example._

'_I still don't know who you truly are Uzumaki but I will thank you for giving me back my little brother. All I can say is that who will be with you will be one lucky girl (unless you like guys)!' she thought shivering at the last part thinking of the waste. Meanwhile in the Hyuuga compound Hinata was sparing with Neji and was just about to deliver a very weak Hake Kusho when she sneezed and super-powered her move blasting poor Neji through a tree and planting him inside a crater on a wall._

_Next morning…_

"_And that's how it happened…" Naruto told his team. He waited for their responses but then felt a shiver run down his spine. He then looked at the source who was none other than Hinata who, although was smiling, was releasing a dark aura who took the form of a female Tengu-crow (half crow-half man with a shit-yourself scary mask) monster behind her._

"_So Naruto…" she began sweetly "… you went to meet an unstable Jinchuriki without telling us or the Hokage or having any back up whatsoever?" she asked, her aura scaring even Sasuke (like mother like daughter)._

"_Well I, I mean , yes… umm… no… can I just say… bye!" and he zipped off with Hinata giving chase._

"_GET BACK HERE NARUTO UZUMAKI AND TAKE YOUR GRUESOME BEATING LIKE A MAN!" she yelled at him._

_The chase lasted about ten minutes before Hinata cornered him at the base of the Hokage Monument._

_He then made his peace before death and closed his eyes to meet the fury of the raging Hinata who was stomping slowly towards him._

_He expected pain and hoped it would be quick and short but was surprised when he only felt a her fists bang gently against his chest and her face burry above them. He then heard a sobbing Hinata whisper_

"_You BAKA! What would I do if I lost you?"_

_He stayed in shock a few moments before snapping out of it and staying quiet, gently embraced her._

Present time…

Naruto smiled at his new friend/brother and nodded, the suna boy returning the gesture. He then turned back to Kabuto who looked like he saw a ghost.

"See, problem solved!" the Uzumaki grinned brightly.

"Umm… what?" the glasses wearing Konoha nin asked snapping out of his stupor.

"About the attracting attention part. As you can see, problem solved!"

"Are you sure about that?" Kabuto asked while pointing to the rest of the Gennin.

Naruto looked and saw the frozen part of them staring blankly at him.

"I fucking asked you something! Well?" Naruto growled at them and they quickly turned around and ducked under whatever they could find. Naruto nodded "Yup, I'm sure!"

"O-Okay, well are you interested in knowing a bit more about your competition?" the glasses wearing teen asked.

"How?" Sasuke asked briefly.

"Well I have some nin-fo cards that have some information about each of them that I have collected over the years." he smirked pushing up his glasses.

"Why would I want to see porn cards?" Naruto spewed out causing Kabuto to trip while standing.

"These are not porn cards!" Kabuto defended.

"Really? But didn't you say 'nympho' cards?" the blond puzzled (he's faking it)

"Not 'nympho', _nin_-_fo_ as in _nin_-ja _info_-rmation cards!" Kabuto explained.

"Oh…" the blond stuck his tongue out and smiled.

'This is the same Gennin who drowned the audience in KI earlier?' Kabuto thought.

"Do you have info on anybody?" the platinum blonde Yamanaka Ino asked.

"Indeed…" the glasses wearing boy smirked tickling Ino's gossip senses.

"How did you get the info Kabuto-san?" Hinata asked.

"This is just info I managed to gather during my tries at this exam."

'Tries? You've done this before?" Kiba asked.

"This is my seventh time and since they are held twice a year, this is my fourth year!"

"Really, well you must suck!" the Inuzuka blurted out.

"Or the exams are just that hard." Kabuto smirked.

Naruto on the other hand frowned 'If the competition is like this then it can't be _that_ hard and even so judging by the way he holds himself he is quite skilled. You wouldn't notice it from the start but he has no holes in his stance. He is like a coiled cobra, not looking like much but you won't know when it bit you. Then why doesn't he tick my lie-detector instinct. He is either real good at lying or he is just a guy who gives up early like Shikamaru. Interesting…"

"Well they can't be that good, I mean how much info can a Gennin get on a person's skill set, especially ones from another village." Naruto smirked 'Although it doesn't apply to my team or should I say team Yurei, heh.'

"Oh yeah? Well let's just see what it says about you!" Kabuto answered quite irked.

"Rookie Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure, at your service!" Naruto smirked again although he sensed something off. He turned to the class to notice that some if not most of them gathered the courage to listen in. He blasted them with KI again albeit a weaker version.

"Mind your own fucking business!" the blond growled at them who quickly turned their attention somewhere else.

Kabuto then hummed and pulled out a card and charged chakra into it "Let's see Naruto Uzumaki: Parents: Unknown, Position: Konoha Gennin, Leader of the Konoha Uzumaki Clan, academic statistic: dead last with bear minimum. Jounin Sensei Hatake Kakashi, Skills…

HOLY CRAP!" Kabuto yelled gaining a lot of attention.

"This can't be right! It says here that you are a Medic-Nin First-Class with honors, Seal Master, Kenjutsu Master and chakra powerhouse.

Mission statistics … I'm starting to think that these cards are getting faulty although I made them to last…" Kabuto said rubbing his temples.

"Why?" Ino asked.

Kabuto sighed "Well get a load at this: Mission Rating: 576 D-ranks, 64 C-ranks, 4 B-ranks and an A-rank!"

"Well that last one was a C-rank gone wrong but nothing we couldn't handle." Naruto stated.

"Yeah but usually being a chakra powerhouse and medic nin is like trying to mix oil and water." Kabuto informed.

"Don't remind me!" Naruto harrumphed "It's a pain but I make it happen!"

"You must have godly chakra control!" Kabuto stated.

"Yeah, I kind of wanted to follow in the Hokage's footprints like Hashirama-sama. He was a monster in chakra and a medic nin levels above his granddaughter Tsunade." Naruto explained.

"Ah, I heard that one! And you were a dead-last too. Usually medics need to be at least book-smart. I'm a medic too, can you give me some pointers?"

"About the dead-last part, deception is a shinobi's tool. And about the medic part well practice makes perfect and never give up!" Naruto continued "That's the secret!"

"Thanks now back to the card, hmm… doesn't say more than, 'For more info check Kirigakure Bingo Book. Luckily I have one of those.' Kabuto nodded and pulled out a scroll out of which he unsealed the Kiri bingo book.

"Let's see now, Uruke, Uziri, ah Uzumaki Naruto hmm… you know what I'm not even surprised! Says here you are part the first B-rank Gennin team in the history of the shinobi villages. It restates the info on the card, says that you use Fuuton (Wind) jutsu with no hand-seals and that… wow… you took out 300 armed help with one move of your sword and evened out with a former Kiri Seven… Swords…man… I take that back I am surprised!" Kabuto began to sweat.

Naruto then grinned widely "Yeah, I'm just that good!" but then leaned in to whisper something in the glasses wearing teen's ear "Remember what I told you Kabuto-san, deception is key! That info doesn't even scratch the surface so, for your own good, tread lightly!"

Kabuto could only nod lightly.

Just then the doors flew open and in came the examiners headed by Ibiki Morino.

"Okay you brats, shut up and pay attention!" shouted the intimidating man but compared to the KI given out by the blond his presence seemed as calming as a summer rain.

'The hell! Ibiki-jii-san's here? Why would a top T&I agent present a test. It's either that we will be tortured for this part or he's here for intimidation effect. Sorry Oji-san but I got to them ahead of you!" Naruto thought.

"Okay you brats, get over here and draw a number and then sit down in the respective seat!" Ibiki yelled.

They pulled out their respective seats although when it was Naruto's turn he sent a predatory smile to Ibiki who returned the gesture making the rest of the Gennin who knew nothing of their relation shiver. (Their seating is the same as the original)

Ibiki then explained the rules.

"Okay brats, quiet out and listen up! You have to answer seven questions before the time limit expires!" he began and quickly heard the groans. That made him smirk "You need at least five points to pass! Every right question is worth a point for the first six and if you are caught cheating once you lose two points, caught again and you lose three points and finally if you are caught once more you lose four so that means you cheat three times, you fail automatically! The seventh question is worth five points!"

Immediately there was a small uproar with most of them saying that they never heard of this kind of test. Though Sakura was the one who got the examiner's attention "But where's the seventh question?"

Ibiki smirked "The seventh question will be given during the last fifteen minutes! Ready? BEGIN!"

Naruto was deep in conversation with his teammates 'These rules are really fucked up. And although I could answer these questions in my sleep, they are not something other than specialists from the Intelligence and Decryption part of the T&I could answer off the bat like this.' said Naruto.

'I know how to answer two or three of them but that's thanks to your tutoring, they really are harder than anything a normal Gennin could answer. Maybe Sakura-san could but she only focused on books during academy years.' answered Hinata.

Sasuke continued 'So that means that this isn't a normal test. Let's combine our info on this and figure it out. So basics: 1) Instead of failing instantly you get a chance to cheat, 2) A T&I top interrogator specializing in mental intimidation techniques is our proctor, 3) The rules put more pressure on the examinees since for every blunder you lose more and more points. No matter how you look at it guys this all adds up to the fact that…'

They all 'spoke' as one: 'Information gathering… We have to cheat!'

Naruto then chuckled 'Well, that's easy! I recognized one of the examinees, he's already a Chuunin from the T&I and I kept wondering what he was doing here until I saw him start writing the answers without skipping a beat and considering that we have to cheat I'm guessing that he is planted here to provide the 'information for gathering'. Don't activate your Doujutsu just yet! I will use our link to give you the picture of his answers since my Shinsougan is the least obvious technique.'

'Copy that!' both his teammates answered.

And so they did to the curiosity of Ibiki who expected the blond to know the answer but he saw neither the Hyuuga girl nor the Uchiha use their 'eyes' not like the other more obvious clan members like the other Hyuuga who's bulging vanes gave him away, or the Nara who used his shadow to have some random Gennin move his test just a bit to the side so he could get a good view, or the Inuzuka who had his dog cheat for him or even the Yamanaka who's jutsu hand-seal and the pinkette falling unconscious was a dead giveaway and so on.

A couple of fails (a little more than the anime) and finally it came to an end.

"Alright maggots, put your pencils down!" Ibiki yelled and so they did "Now before you get the final question you must know that there's a hitch!"

There were some murmurs in the class but it quickly died down.

"Before you get the final question know that it is mandatory to answer the question. If you refuse your points automatically fall to 0 and you will fail and have a better chance next year!"

"Well then we will take the question!" shouted Kankuro.

"But…" Ibiki interrupted with a sick grin on his face "To receive the question you must chose a teammate who will not be able to take the exam and will always remain a Gennin!"

This time the uproar was loud with most of them screaming that it's unfair. "You can't do that! There are some here who took the test before!"

"Well this year I am examiner! I make the rules and I have permission from all the Kages and village leaders to do so!"

'Bullshit!' thought Naruto, an opinion shared by his teammates 'I would have believed that if not for Kiri's state. It's completely locked down from entry so gaining that kind of authorization would have been as close to impossible as humanly possible!'

Ibiki then unsealed a small but wide cardboard grid that had the village symbol on it and the team's identification like a small leaf whirlwind for Konoha and Team 7, Team 8 and so on.

"You might have noticed the small piece of paper on the right of the main one! You will write the name of your teammate you wish to eliminate, fold it and then place it in the box corresponding to your village and team."

They started murmuring again. Eventually an Ame team got up and placed their pieces of paper and Naruto noticed that one of them had a visible shitty grin hidden under his mask.

They were followed by more teams until Naruto noticed that Sakura was shakily going to place her paper slip. The blond frowned, got up and, followed by his teammates, he marched to Ibiki and presented his paper slip and the man raised an eyebrow at this… right before Naruto ripped and shred the piece of paper before burning it with pure Katon chakra.

"Our sensei taught us: 'Those who don't follow the rules are scum, but those who don't care for their teammates are far, far worse than scum!'" The blond then looked at the boxes that had slips already in them and simply said "Worse than scum!" before shaking the ashes out of his hand and did a one-eighty followed by Hinata and Sasuke who already took care of their slips, and walked out the room. Most teams were already following their lead.

Outside the room they were greeted by a Chuunin who told them "You're Kakashi's team right?" They nodded "Well he would be proud to know that you passed now please head to room 315 to wait for the second examiner!" he whispered before moving to redirect other teams who exit.

Meanwhile in the examination room a good but still smaller-than-expected portion remained.

"Well maggots, I have to congratulate you and tell you that … YOU FAIL! Why? Figure it out and get out of my class!" he said and stormed out.

Meanwhile in R315 Ibiki entered with a kind smirk on his face which knowing him was kind of creepy.

"Congratulations Gennin! The fact that you are here means that you either understood the meaning of this test or you took that weird shit stain blond's words to heart!"

"Says the man who sleeps in an 'Iron Maiden' with a branding iron as a teddy-bear!" Naruto shouted in defense.

Ibiki's brow twitched but shrugged it off and began explaining the hidden meanings behind the test but was interrupted by Naruto who got up and strolled to the middle of the class and did a small "Doryuheki (Earth Wall)" a little distance away from a side window. He then strolled to the window in the view of the entire silently curious examinees.

Naruto slowly mumbled "…3…2…1…" and he opened the window and a tan blur zipped through it and stopped hard when it hit the Earth Wall kicking up dust and making Naruto burst out in a crazy laugh.

When the dust cleared you could see a swirly eyed Anko Mitarashi sticking to the wall in an uncomfortable body position.

She then shook her head "Oh, did someone get the rank on that jutsu that hit me?"

"More like you hit the Jutsu Nee-san!" Naruto said between snorts.

"YOU!" she pointed towards the blond.

"Payback for the time you spiced my ramen with mega-hot sauce! No one messes with my ramen!" Naruto declared.

"Oh when I get my hands on you…" she trembled with anger.

Naruto then smiled toothlessly and lowered his head just so much that his eyes were barely visible between the strands of hair as they glowed red. "Is that a challenge?"

Anko just moved her head from side to side in rapid frightened motion. Last time he got that look she was painted pink and covered in feathers.

The blond just chuckled "That's what I thought!" and made his way back to his seat.

Anko then snapped out of her daze "Ahem, I am the sexy and single…"

"And Sadistic..." interrupted Naruto.

Anko nodded "That too… Anko Mitarashi and I'll be your proctor for the second exam! Let's see one, two, three… 63? You left 21 teams this year Ibiki? You must be losing your touch!"

"Or they are just a good crop, not to mention there's a pesky blond mixed with them…" Ibiki grunted.

"Maybe, meh I'll chop them down to at least half by the time I'm done with them! Alright brats, with me!"

Training ground 44…

Anko was standing in front of the TG holding two scrolls, one white with the kanji for Heaven and another darker scroll with the kanji for Earth.

"Alright brats, front and center! This is where the next portion of the exam will take place! During the 120 hours or in other words five days you will be locked up inside here with one of these scrolls. The objective is to gain a pair of scrolls using whatever means necessary and to reach the tower in the middle of the TG before the said time is up. The rules are: if you leave the training grounds you and your team will be disqualified, if you arrive at the tower without a functioning team meaning a critically injured or teammate you and the rest of your team will be disqualified, if you receive outside help from another non-participant by their own will you and your team will be disqualified! If you open any of these scrolls in the forest you and your team will be disqualified! As Chuunin you will be required to ferry classified information meant for specific eyes only! Consider this a test of trust! Now before we begin the test you are required to go to that tent where you will sign the agreement to take this test of your own will and turning in those slips as a team you will receive your scroll! Any questions?"

"What are the slips for?" asked Ino.

"Oh that's just to clear us of any responsibility concerning your deaths!" the woman flashed a predatory grin.

"What will we do for food?" Choji asked/screamed.

"Well there's lot of wild plants and game in this forest and it's all supersized so it will be enough even for an Akimichi!" Anko smiled but then it turned into a grin "That is if you can get past the man-eating poisonous giant plants and colossal predators like a fifteen ton bear or a twenty-seven foot long panther! Welcome to Training Ground 44 also known as the Forest of Death!"

"Home sweet home!" Naruto shouted.

Anko then threw a kunai at the blond but it was deflected by an invisible force millimeters before it could graze his cheek. The woman appeared behind the teen with another kunai held some distance from him.

"You know… it's usually the loudmouths who go first!" she whispered into his ear while pressing her 'assets' on his back.

"Well I can think of something more dangerous than anything in that forest!" Naruto grinned.

"Oh really, what?" she licked her lips.

Naruto chuckled "Look to your right…"

Anko followed his instruction and was met by the sight of a smiling Hinata whose Tengu-aura was going ballistic making the usually composed and scary woman pale with fright "I will tell you this once Anko-san. Get your breasts off of him!"

The woman complied by moving back to her original position with a speed that would have Naruto wonder if she had a version of the Senkaipo in her jutsu arsenal.

A couple of minutes later and they were situated at the gate that would soon let them inside the portion of the test with a Heaven scroll sealed inside one of Naruto's wrist bands. The clock hit noon and the gates opened. They zipped through it and in less than ten seconds they were already a mile and a half deep inside the forest.

"So what do we do now? Do we hunt for a team or do we try and set up traps closer to the tower?" Sasuke asked.

"Can I add a third suggestion?" asked Naruto as he fished out an Earth scroll from his coat.

"When did you get that?" asked Hinata.

"Nothing that I know of except probably another dimension can hide something from the Shinsougan. I scanned the teams and the closest one to us that had an Earth scroll was ironically an Iwa team. So a Ranpu-Henged Shadow Clone and a Senkaipo empowered Kawarimi and we have a scroll and they have something that will disappear in the next ten minutes." Naruto chuckled and his teammates smiled/smirked. "Well we now can make a b-line to the tower or we can take a safer root. For all my training here I never got the idea to place a Hiraishin seal on the tower." Naruto face-palmed himself.

"I say that we head straight for the tower." Sasuke voted.

"I agree!" Hinata continued.

"Straight to the tower it is!" Naruto finished and focused on deactivating his bands, as did his teammates and the next moment they were blurring through the trees leaving only small indentations in the bark.

They were halfway there when Hinata's Byakugan sensed something and she promptly shouted: "Look out!"

However they didn't have time to take cover as she and Naruto were blasted backwards by a chakra infused wind, her flying through a couple of branches into some deep foliage and Naruto tens of feet through the tree tops landing in a clearing.

"Ungh, what hit me?" he asked before he noticed a huge viper staring at him with hungry eyes before the snake lunged at him.

However he did a quick Senkaipo some distance away from the crater the snake dug in its attempt to snag the blond.

"Oh, you hungry?" he said and made a clone "Eat this!" the clone said as it launched towards the snake and jumped in its mouth.

The snake swallowed the clone and then set its eyes on the original.

"Be careful of indigestion!" Naruto smirked and the snake promptly blew up.

" 'Bunshin Daibakuha!' Those stomach burns can be a 'killer'!"

Meanwhile…

Sasuke was having the 'time of his life' fighting the rogue Sannin Orochimaru. A few Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and even some Sharingan genjutsu later and a couple of clever uses of Kawarimi later and they were both panting like crazy.

"Kukuku, I see that your brother was not wrong in sparing you Sasuke-kun, you certainly have power, although you are still behind him somewhat!" the snake user licked his lips.

"Don't you… Don't you dare talk about nii-san you filth!" Sasuke shouted. Although they were both holding back, Orochimaru was clearly the superior one of them, if only because that damn body of his did things that were inhuman like barfing himself every time he got a critical injury.

Sasuke then broke the stalemate by using his speed, disappearing and reappearing behind the snake with an axe kick prepared. Orochimaru tried to block the kick but the energy Sasuke put into it surprised him and he was sent backwards several feet. Sasuke then used a Hosenka no Jutsu (Phoenix Flower) to burn through a couple of branches above the Sannin. The branches started falling like steel beams from a poor construction site and threatened to bury the man. Orochimaru was preparing to evade them when Sasuke did a couple of hand signs and his hair began to spark with electricity before it pointed forward instead of backwards like usual.

"Raiton: Raiyari Darengan! (Lightning Spear Barrage!)" shouted the Uchiha.

Out of the boy's hair shot several bolts of lightning at the branches. Although there were many of them if you took the whole succession of lightning strikes, no more or less than seven bolts were in the air at any given time.

The branches exploded sending splinters everywhere like shrapnel. Orochimaru summoned a snake and dived into its mouth for safety but the sharp pieces of wood pierced through the hard scales and bones of the said snake.

When it was all over a somewhat bloody Sannin exited out of the dead snake's mouth.

"That was very impressive Sasuke-kun! You charged the wood with Raiton chakra before it exploded and the piercing power of the element increased the damage potential of the sharp wood. Very impressive indeed, kukuku! **I must have your body!**" the creep hissed.

He then lunged at the Gennin who was still analyzing his situation but he didn't get to strike because he was struck by a huge pipe-like wind jutsu and blasted sideways.

Naruto then appeared near a somewhat tired Sasuke and Hinata jumped to his branch.

"Shit, so it was a Sannin!" Naruto cursed "Sweet!" he then smirked.

"Oh, you got away from my pet Naruto-kun?" the snake asked in surprise.

"You mean that overgrown handbag? It must have been something it ate because it was _dead_ tired a moment later. So… we getting this show on the road?" Naruto punched his hand but Sasuke stepped in front of him.

"He's mine!" Sasuke smirked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow but immediately smirked back and nodded.

"Then you must go full power since we still need you to finish this exam." intervened Hinata.

"You don't mean…!" Naruto puzzled but Hinata nodded before he could finish. He then flashed his Cheshire grin "Did I ever tell you that I love you?" he asked and raised a half seal and so did Hinata.

A moment later some tribal markings spread over Sasuke's closed eyelids and then shattered like glass.

"What was that?" Orochimaru curiously asked.

Sasuke began chuckling "The beginning…" he then opened his eyes to reveal a black and red atom-like pattern "… of your end! "Mangekyo Sharingan: AMATERATSU"!"

Orochimaru didn't have time to admire the magnificent eyes as he promptly exploded into black flames.

"SHIIIIT!" he screamed and did a quick 'Barfing Rebirth' and slipped out of his skin as it was completely engulfed in the flames.

This repeated for three times before low chakra reserves forced them back in a stalemate.

"Kuku … ku… this has been… fun… Sasuke-kun! I will leave you a little parting present" said the Sannin and jumped at the boy who mirrored his action. Sasuke launched a kick at the man who avoided it and went in to bite his neck. Sasuke managed to duck under the man but didn't expect the Sannin's neck to extend out of proportion so he couldn't avoid a second bite.

"AAAHHHHH!" Sasuke screamed as he dropped on his hands and knees clutching his neck.

"SHIT!" Naruto jumped to his side followed by Hinata who yelled "Sasuke-kun!"

"Kukuky, hope you enjoy your present Sasuke-kun but if your teammates are half as good as you then I need to high-tail it out of here!" he said as he began sinking into the earth "We will meet again!"

"WhaAAAAAHHH!" Sasuke's adrenaline run out and he passed out from the pain.

Naruto then got to look at his neck and saw three Sharingan-like tomoe in the spot that the bastard bit his teammate.

"Shit on a stick, it's a Curse Seal and a powerful one at that!" Naruto cursed.

"Curse Seal?" asked Hinata.

"It's that pedo Orochimaru's hikey jutsu! Nee-san has one too and I had to seal it away after I analyzed it. He seals his chakra and a bit of his soul inside it. The person he uses it on then gets flooded with the chakra and enhances aggressive tendencies. It also drives a person nuts. I need to seal it before it roots itself into him but I need some time!"

"Take all the time you need!" Hinata worriedly confirmed.

Together they dragged the unconscious Sasuke in a hollow of a tree where Naruto placed some quick shield seals and then began to tend to Sasuke while Hinata took point. It took a total of three exhausting hours for Naruto to patch up a seal sturdy enough to stand a couple of days of roughing up. Seeing his friend recovering color in his face and resting peacefully he then fell exhausted besides him and drifted to sleep leaving Hinata alone to stand guard.

A couple of hours later a group of sound Gennin dropped into the area.

"Dosu, are you sure they're around?" his taller, thinner comrade asked.

"Yeah, they are here Zaku. Watch out for traps, Orochimaru-sama told us to be weary of them!" Dosu answered.

"Listen guys, we need to finish this quick if we want to continue this test!" Kin told them earning a grunt from Dosu and a 'Yeah, yeah!' from Zaku.

They began searching with more attention but had to jump for cover when a couple of senbon flew at them. Hinata then dropped in the clearing, Byakugan ablaze.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she calmly asked.

"Well, well, looks like I can grab me a nice price today!" Zaku leered looking at Hinata like she was a piece of meat earning a glare from Kin.

"Just make sure you take her out quickly! We still need to find her teammates." Dosu ordered.

"I heard you talking about Orochimaru... what does he want?" Hinata asked them.

"Don't worry honey, maybe you'll find out later. There's three of us so what do you say about giving up and joining me to the bushes?" Zaku licked his lips.

"Sorry buddy but I'm spoken for and don't think that having numbers means having the advantage!" Hinata growled at him.

"Too bad! Well… TAKE THIS: Zankuha! (Decapitating Air Waves)" screamed Zaku as he thrust his hand forward revealing thin tubes from which a powerful air wave shot out from.

The blast was so powerful it appeared to lift Hinata off her feet and send her crashing into a large tree.

"Too bad honey! I didn't want to mess your figure." Zaku laughed but stopped just as that Hinata burst into smoke and revealed a log.

"Too bad indeed…" he heard her speaking from his left "That is too bad you're so weak, I wanted to have some fun before I finished you off!" she brushed her hair to the side.

"What the fuck? Zankuha!" Zaku screamed again but she just jumped out of the way.

"Is that all you can do?" a bored Hinata asked.

"Why you BITCH! TAKE THIS: Zankuukyokuha! (Extreme DAW)" and a massive gust of air exploded from his hands leveling parts of the forest and reducing boulders to dust. "Fuck I think I disintegrated her with that!" Zaku pouted, sad that he lost a potential sex toy.

"You are not that lucky." Hinata told him.

If you would look at where she was standing you would see a perfectly round patch of grass in the middle of the destruction.

Hinata then smirked "Let me show you the real deal! Hakke Kusho! (Vacuum Palm)"

No sooner had she said this that Zaku was blasted off his feet, flew through two tree trunks a landed on a large rocky outcrop on his right side. There was a sickening crunch as the landing dislocated his arm.

"ZAKU!" shouted Dosu "Why you!" he screamed launching himself at Hinata and threw his melody arm at her in a punch. Hinata simply avoided him by moving her body to the side.

A bell like sound was then heard and chakra gathered in his melody arm. The sound waves went in all directions finally reaching Hinata's ear and she began to look dizzy and fell to one knee clutching her ear.

Dosu then chuckled "How do you like my melody arm?" he said as he approached the downed girl. When he was in range Hinata raised her head and smirked at him.

"The tone was kind of false, but can you play some blues as well?" she tapped a pressure point in his arm and it fell limp and chakra stopped passing through it.

"What?!" a frightened Dosu asked.

"Oh don't look so surprised! The Byakugan negates our dependency on our inner ear. I admit that the slight pain in it was quite annoying but nothing I couldn't handle. Though I'm surprised that you didn't figure it out that I am just playing with you! Considering our chakra levels only it's like comparing a mouse…" she pointed at him "… to a tiger." she finished pointing at herself.

Hinata then turned to Kin who was trembling.

"Well?" Hinata asked the girl who flinched in return.

"P-Please don't kill us! H-here take our scroll!" she offered trying to save herself and her team.

"I don't need your scroll! You can keep it if you take these weaklings and leave!" Hinata snarled.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Kin complied picking up Zaku and Dosu and getting the fuck out of there.

Two days later Sasuke woke up with a groan.

"Finally up man?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto what happened to me? Ungh..!"

"Hey easy, you got hit with a Curse Seal Jutsu! I managed to seal it off from rooting itself to your chakra system but the seal that I used is more like duct tape on a leaky pipe. It should hold for a week or so but we still have to get to the tower so I can do the real stuff. You can't make any exterior use of chakra until I do otherwise the seal could break. The fact that you've been out like a light for more than two days should be an indicator as to how serious this thing is." Naruto explained.

"Thanks!" Sasuke nodded.

Naruto just smiled and patted his back "Let's go!"

They made their way to the tower where they opened the scroll and Kakashi appeared out of the summoning rituals.

"Yo!" he greeted them "You know? Iruka begged me to let him greet you but the fact that you took so long to get here made me worry. What happened?" the scarecrow asked.

"Yeah, sorry we're late! We had to tango with a _snake_." Naruto explained.

Kakashi's visible eye went wide "Tell me more!" he whispered.

They retreated to a lone room where they gave him the report. At the end all three of them were sporting healthy bumps on the head.

"That's for letting Sasuke fight a Sannin alone and for fighting a Sannin alone!" Kakashi admonished them. "So, Naruto are you good to finally seal Sasuke's issue?"

Naruto checked his supplies and had a shock "Shit!"

"What?" asked Kakashi.

"I'm out of ink!" Naruto said checking again and coming out disappointed.

"Well that's no problem. I have some as well since I know a little bit of sealing." Kakashi assured him.

"Really? You have some Uzu no Kuni ink?" Naruto asked.

"Umm… what?" Kakashi sweat-dropped.

Naruto sighed "I'll take that as a no. There are several grades of ink quality for sealing that can be used. The worst one is of course normal ink from your local hard-ware store. These are the most prone to wipe or chip during use and are absolutely forbidden to be used on living targets. Normal quality is found in shinobi stores and are much more resistant to wear and thus can safely be used on living beings but must not contain dynamic contents like spirits entities like Bijuu or in this case the Curse Seal energies since they must be reapplied frequently, depends on the user's will or state of consciousness and can fail faster if regular maintenance is not done to it.

But the best quality ink is extracted from special nin-ctopuses that swim in the chakra rich waters around Uzu no Kuni but their ink is on a whole other scale when it comes to sealing. Nii-san's seal is made using that ink and it will take a couple more years before it even begins to crack. Considering it lasted 12 years containing the most powerful dynamic being in existence you can see the ink's quality." the blond explained

"I-I see…" Kakashi answered a little bewildered. No wonder sealing was the most difficult shinobi art.

"I used my last ration of ink on Sasuke's patch seal. It usually takes a month to order some."

"Then we do have a problem…" Kakashi frowned.

"Don't worry! I ordered some and will receive the shipment in one or two days." Naruto explained.

"Then I'll go and get it!" the sensei offered.

"You can't since the order is on my name and you can't commandeer it since then it will bring attention on the problem and so Sasuke will still be forced to drop out." Naruto sighed.

"So using normal-grade seal ink is still out of the question?" Kakashi asked

"You can use it but the danger will always be there. If it cracks it will be like a dam cracking: Serious danger! It's just not flexible enough."

"So what now?" Hinata asked.

Naruto smirked "Isn't it obvious?"

They looked at him for the answer.

"I will drop out and get the gear! You two can go on ahead and take the test after I'm finished!" Naruto told them.

Sasuke was outraged "No! If anyone should drop out it's me! I'm the one that got us into this mess!"

Naruto swayed his head from side to side "Listen Sasuke, it best if I do it. I will pick up the order and some other specific supplies that can be confused with useless junk easily so I will do it and that's final. It's either that or you can go with no Nin or Gen Jutsu until we get a break." he said, joking at the last part.

Then a silence permeated the air.

"Could that work?" Sasuke asked.

"Sure it would work. I just turn in my resignation and…" Naruto began.

"No you dope! Could I still participate using no chakra expulsion?" Sasuke raged.

"Oh! Oh yeah sure! The temporary seal should hold just fine. You should still even be able to use your Sharingan since the chakra still gets cycled in your own body and also can use it to energize your muscles for high-speed movement but that's all! Even sticking to a wall with chakra would be dangerous." Naruto confirmed.

"Then that's what I'll do! I will continue like this!" Sasuke stated.

Kakashi looked on a little worried "Would it really be alright?"

Sasuke nodded "Don't worry sensei, I learned my lesson. If there's any danger I'll quit before anything happens!"

Two more days later…

In the end Anko kept her word about reducing them by at least half with only 8 teams passing the forest challenge out of which one was from Suna, one from the Sound and another from Iwa. The rest were Konoha Gennin.

During the introduction (which I am too lazy to write) Kabuto Yakushi and an Iwa shinobi who had a badly swollen arm gave up.

Fights…

Naruto was standing nervously waiting for his turn to happen. It wasn't because he was exited or worried for his fight since besides his team, no one of the participants could hope to match him and he knew it, he felt it to his bones.

He was worried for Sasuke and the seal's strength. He knew that if things went wrong he was going to have to apply a lower quality seal over it and improving that later would be a pain especially considering the rebellious and malevolent chakra that would have to be sealed. He didn't have time to worry much when the first contestant's name flashed on screen.

Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akadō

They charged at each other with Sasuke clearly having the advantage in body speed. So much so that he Yoroi barely could avoid the first strike from his fist. The strike was so intense that the wind pressure was enough to ruffle the sound shinobi's clothes.

'If he socks me even once I'm out!' thought Yoroi but decided to take a risk and grabbed the offending appendage.

"Unghkuhhh…" Sasuke grunted in pain.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, his Shinsougan clearly showing the chakra drainage from Yoroi's strange technique.

The Uchiha threw a wild kick at Yoroi who quickly disengaged his hold. Sasuke jumped for distance clutching the back of his neck.

"Sasuke-kun looks like he is in pain…" spoke Sakura "And why is he going easy on that guy?"

Naruto heard her and thought 'Normally I would call bubblegum hair moronic but she does have a point. Even with his chakra sealed Sasuke should have no problem hitting this guy but why is he so slow… OH SHIT!' "He can't deactivate his bands without his chakra!" whispered a stupefied Naruto.

'Oh no!' thought Kakashi and Hinata.

Meanwhile Sasuke was having trouble catching his slippery opponent and was getting careless, the pain from the initial contact distracting him 'Fuck, this guy can force my chakra out of me by absorbing it. Normally I should stay away and blast him from afar but I can't without chakra. There is only one thing I could do now…"

He jumped back some distance and threw three shuriken at the guy who avoided them with ease.

"Is that the best you can do?" Yoroi smirked until the shuriken changed course in midair trying to circle him. That's when Yoroi saw the ninja wire connected to them and tried to jump high to avoid them falling right into Sasuke's trap.

Sasuke jumped after him and quickly reached his level since even sealed his body condition was a level or two above lee's weighted one.

"Now you can't escape me!" Sasuke grunted in satisfaction.

Yoroi desperately tried to grab him to activate his technique but Sasuke batted his arms to the side of his body with ease. The Uchiha then shouted "TAKE THIS!" and began raining blows on the opponent's body while still in the air.

The first to land was Sasuke who was on one knee and panting but his face was locked in a smirk. Yoroi fell shortly after. His body was limp and he was unconscious with indentations on his body that were visible even through his clothes.

"Winner Sasuke Uchiha!" shouted Hayate between coughs.

Kakashi immediately shunshined down to his level and lifted him up to the stands where Naruto examined his seal.

After many 'hmm..''s and 'aha..''s Naruto finally smiled "Phew! Still good! There's a small crack on it but its cosmetic and doesn't affect its integrity but as Team 7's official doctor you are banned from any form of shinobi activity until the permanent solution is applied!" he patted Sasuke before offering some pain medication.

Sasuke gratefully accepted it and after taking it settled for sleeping against a wall.

"Now I can enjoy the show!" Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

The second pair appeared on screen.

Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka

For the most part the fight was worse than a cat's quarrel. They were so evenly matched (and weak) that it looked like some Kami played a stupid prank on them. It got a little more interesting when Sakura tried using some Genjutsu on Ino.

"Sakura no!" screamed Kurenai.

Apparently she had never foreseen the situation where the pinkette had to fight a Yamanaka. While Yamanaka were as vulnerable to genjutsu as any other shinobi, nobody knew the workings of the mind better than them and if someone of beginner level like Sakura used it on one of the clan's members they left their own minds open essentially creating the link that a Yamanaka needed to invade the genjutsu user's conscious.

And that's exactly what happened…

The fight looked over until Sakura summoned her inner will and banished Ino from her mind.

The fight finally ended with a double punch knockout for both of them so neither of them won.

Kankuro vs Misumi Tsurugi

Misumi ended up being turned into a pin cushion by Kankuro's puppet's knives.

Temari vs Tenten

This fight was a lot more interesting than Sakura vs Ino but was one sided towards Temari. Both Kunoichi were specialized shinobi but unfortunately for Tenten, Temari's specialty was her weakness as the Kazekage's daughter blew away all her weapons and attempts. Tenten ended up on the bad end of the Suna Kunoichi's wind. She was shredded by the sharp air and was about to fall disgracefully on Temari's fan.

"Enough!" shouted Naruto.

Temari did not forget what he did for her brother and summoned up a little wind to slow and cushion the weapon user's fall.

"Thank you for listening! It's not right to disgrace an opponent who gave it their all!" Naruto told Temari who nodded in respect and understanding.

"That was very youthful of you Naruto-kun!" Maito Gay… oopps typing mistake!… sorry I mean Gai shouted in his good guy pose.

Neji Hyuuga vs Hinata Hyuuga

They had a good and honorable Juken fight for a while until Hinata switched to Ryuusei and wiped the floor with Neji who then congratulated her for her win. (I was out of ideas since I can't picture Exam's Neji other than a pompous asshole with a mile-long stake up his ass)

Shikamaru Nara vs Kin Tsuchi

Kin hit her head on the wall thanks to Shikamaru.

Dosu Kinuta vs Shino Aburame

Dosu chased after Shino for a while until he got a good hit with his melody arm. He though he had won until it was revealed that the Shino he was fighting was a Mushi Bunshin (Bug Clone) and that he was now in range for them to swarm him and suck all his chakra out. He fell unconscious to the floor.

Kiba Inuzuka vs Aotsuchi

Aotuchi was a beautiful Kunoichi with dark ocean-blue eyes and long silky black hair that reached between her shoulder-blades and was about fourteen years old. She had all the right curves, normal sized breasts and wore a red outfit consisting of a mesh body underneath, biker shorts, plated fingerless gloves that reached her elbows, standard shinobi sandals and a leather one-strap battle dress that looked like a cross between a swordsman's armor and an evening dress with an angled skirt and a guard on her right shoulder.

She snarled at Kiba's forehead protector.

Kiba after some lecherous comments began his attack with the Beast Mimicry. The girl just stood still and brushed aside all the boy's attacks.

Naturally this infuriated Kiba who then tried his combination drill attack Gatsuga and tried to hit the girl from both sides.

She responded by rising up two slabs of the arena floor and hardening it with Doton chakra. When poor Kiba and Akamaru realized that their faces were already planted in the wall. Then with the help of a mud clone buried them neck deep in the floor using Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu and was about to skewer them with kunai when Hayate stopped her and declared her the winner.

Gaara vs Rock Lee

(Please don't hate me but: Just like in the anime but an honorable Gaara and Lee escapes in one piece.)

Choji Akimichi vs Suotsuchi

Now if there were any doubts about a trickster deity, they were blown away. Suotsuchi was a teen built like a boulder. He had short brown hair that was covered by his headband and his eyes were hidden by glasses. He looked overweight but that was just the first appearance since his body was over 95% pure muscle and was clearly the tallest Gennin there passing Maito Guy by five inches. He looked as stoic as Shino.

Asuma looked at his student and smiled "Hey Choji! If you win this one I will treat you to an all you can eat barbeque buffet!"

Ino who by this time recovered decided to add her words to his fighting spirit "Fatty!" she screamed.

"NOW YOU'VE DONE IT INO!" screamed Choji with flames of anger burning in his eyes.

"Begin!" signaled Hayate.

Chouji immediately expanded his size to that of a large round shape and retracted his members leaving him looking like a giant bowling ball as chakra filled steam blew out of where his head and arms were once. He started spinning in place.

"Ninpou: Nikudan Sensha! (Meat Ball Tank)" shouted the Akimichi and started moving at high speed towards Suotsuchi.

It seemed that the Iwa Gennin was about to be flattened when Chouji slammed into him and kept on spinning in place, Suotsuchi not even fazed by him.

"Is that all?" asked Suo in a monotonic voice.

"What?" asked the audience.

"Doton: Kajūgan no Jutsu! (Agravated Rock/ Added weight)" spoke Suo "You add size to your build, I simply add mass. You are too light to move me!"

The Iwa Gennin then retracted his fist and punched the still spinning meat tank. Poor Chouji was launched at high speed towards a wall.

What Suo didn't expect was the Akimichi bouncing off the wall like a high powered beach ball and slamming back into him, the added power coupled with his Meat Ball Tank managing to overpower the boulder of a Gennin and they both slammed hard into the opposing wall resulting in a double KO.

"That…was lame…" spoke Naruto with a deadpan look, opinion shared by the Sensei.

Finally came the last fight of the preliminaries and there was no need for the prompter to show who were the contestants.

Naruto Uzumaki vs. Zaku Abumi

Both teens jumped down to the arena and prepared. Naruto noticed Zaku's right arm was in a makeshift sling.

Naruto on the other hand looked angry but collected.

"Ready?" asked Hayate and they both nodded "Begin!"

"I will give you a freebie." spoke Naruto calmly "Hit my with all you got!"

"Heh, you are either stupid or you are confident!" grinned Zaku.

"That baka!" screamed Ino "Trying to act cool in front of the people standing here!"

"I-I don't know about that Ino…" stuttered Sakura "You may not believe me but Naruto is strong, very strong! I learned that on our joint mission to Nami. Right now whatever instinct I have is telling me that Naruto is toying with his opponent!"

"N-no way!" answered a now unsecure Ino "B-but he was the dead-last!"

"He was faking it. He's as strong as Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, Naruto and Hinata… all three of them are hellishly strong, on a whole other level even." continued Sakura.

In the stance Asuma looked on with curiosity "Hey Kakashi, is your student right in the noggin'?"

Kakashi didn't even bother looking since he already knew the outcome of the event "Asuma, do you remember the Gennin test? I was coming at them with the intent to kill. Even though I would have probably stopped before I killed them, it still doesn't cover the fact that I was going all out and they still managed to get me to surrender. Do you honestly think that that Gennin has any chance against Naruto?"

Asuma then frowned and returned back to watching the fight.

Zaku heard some of the comments and sneered "So you think you're tough shit? I will show them who rules in this fight!"

"You're wrong!" Naruto answered calmly.

"Heh we'll see about that! Zankuha!" Zaku shouted, air waves shooting out of his good arm.

When the dust cleared they all expected Naruto to be atomized but they all saw him standing in the same position still staring angrily at Zaku.

"What the…?" Zaku stepped back.

"Stop faking injury!" Naruto told/ordered him coldly "That arm of yours is still good right? Use it too!"

Back in the stands…

"Why is Naruto taking his time with this?" asked Sasuke "He should be able to take him out in less than a second!"

Hinata who had just figured out why decided to share "I thought about that too and I think I understand why. He had this look on him whenever he saw Zaku during his stay in the tower ever since we reported to Kakashi."

"You don't think that…?" Sasuke began but stopped when Hinata sighed.

"Yes…" she answered "I don't know if I should love him more or clobber him! He is angry, no he is furious at the boy because of what he said to me in the forest! I think that the only thing stopping him from murdering Zaku in a gruesome way is the fact that I, for a lack of a better term, kicked his ass when we first met. Not to imitate Shikamaru but… so troublesome."

"In this case I'm not going to invoke copyright." muttered Shikamaru who had actually interrupted his sleep to see what Naruto was capable of "Troublesome blonds…"

In the arena…

Zaku snarled "You know I wanted to see your pained or dying face when I won but looks like you asked for it! When I hit you with this there won't be an atom left of your body!" screamed the sound Gennin as he brought his other hand out and screamed "ZANKUUKYOKUHA!"

A massive blast of wind pressure shot from his arm tubes and hit the place where Naruto stood and the wall behind him. It was so intense it created more tremors than when Lee slammed Gaara into the floor.

A huge quantity of dust was stirred and everybody patiently waited for it to clear. When it did they saw that Naruto was still unfazed though on his coat there were shining seals that were slowly fading away.

"What's that?" asked Shikamaru.

"Naruto-kun is a Seal Master on the same level as the Yondaime if not a little above. He planted those seals on all his battle clothes. It creates a shield that can take a lot of punishment before it even starts fading. You can see the strength of the seal by the brightness of symbols. The brighter they are the more chakra it supplies to the shield and more likely it is to fail. That jutsu barely made them blink." answered Hinata.

"Impressive…" muttered Shino and the senseis nodded.

Back with Naruto…

Zaku was backing away panting and in fear. He had no more cards to play and realized that kunai or taijutsu was just pointless. He was cowering away ready to quit when Naruto spoke.

"When I said that you were wrong… I meant that this is not a fight. It is a slaughter!" shouted Naruto and blasted Zaku in the wall with a weak Boido Nami!

Before the sound shinobi could recover Naruto brought out seven senbon and pinned him in, one in each ankle, knee and wrists and one more in his neck as Zaku screamed in pain, the senbon piercing his nerves.

Naruto then teleported to his position and everybody who looked close could see his hands buzzing and sparking with Raiton chakra.

Naruto then stared into his eyes and growled "I am guessing you won't apologize to Hinata if I ask you nicely? Well it doesn't matter anyway… I will get the apology out of your body!"

Zaku could only open one eye and open his cringing mouth to say "Kuh…Wait I giAAAAAAA…!" he screamed as Naruto touched a senbon in his knee and lightning chakra shot up his pain conduits.

Kakashi then rotated his eye towards Asuma "Did I mention that he is an honorary member of the T&I department and is on the same level with Ibiki?"

"What's the T&I and who's this Ibiki?" asked Kiba.

Kurenai answered "The T&I or Torture and Interrogation Division is a place where we extract information from prisoners, spies or traitors, most of the times using less than… humane methods to do so. Ibiki Morino is the current head and the second best in the branch. He is so… dedicated to his work that he earned the nickname The Sadist."

Zaku in the meantime was having the time of his life. And by that I mean that whenever he was close to giving up, Naruto would flood his nerves with Raiton chakra and he was forced to scream cutting off his tries. Naruto wouldn't even let him fall unconscious by stimulating the senbon lodged in his neck and jump-starting his brain.

"Why isn't the proctor stopping this?" asked Sakura who was a little mortified by the display.

Kakashi then answered "This is a battle simulation as close to the real situation as possible. As long as Naruto doesn't make a move to kill him this could potentially be a valuable lesson for the kid. Life isn't just some fairytale and no shinobi is invincible. There may come a time where you are captured and tortured for information. There will be no proctor then to save you from that or anything worse and this is one of the cleanest methods of torture. The kid's body is virtually intact and only virtual pain is reaching his brain. Also because of that if he can get control of his pain, he has the chance to escape and turn the tables on Naruto but apparently he isn't that strong and Naruto knows it."

Sakura looked down in sadness "I see but do you approve of this Hinata?"

Hinata nodded "Don't get me wrong Sakura, it's sad and gruesome to do that to another human being but that's the life we chose. If something like this happens to him and he can't get over it then he doesn't belong in the shinobi life. Even though it's not standard academy curriculum, I went through that kind of treatment too as training and even worse under Anko-san, the second proctor, because I knew that if something happens and I wasn't ready I could endanger the ones I love. Naruto still doesn't know that I have. I don't approve of it but I accept it."

Sakura looked like she finally understood, if only for the respect of the fact that Hinata endured that and worse.

Eventually though, after five minutes Naruto got tired of it and stopped doing it with Zaku sliding off the senbon and landed on the floor unconscious and with no control over his body functions, trembling and sweating while lying in a puddle of blood, saliva, sweat piss and shit the fluids seeping through his clothes.

Naruto didn't even look at him as he jumped back to the stands as medics carried Zaku away.

The sad part over, the winners were congratulated by the Hokage and the losers given encouragement. They then moved to draw lots to see who they would fight in the finals.

The final draw was:

Naruto Uzumaki vs Hinata Hyuuga

Shikamaru Nara vs Temari

Shino Aburame vs Aotsuchi

Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara

Kankuro vs Winner of Match 1

And thus ended the preliminaries…

***End Chapter***

A.N:

*Shukaku's pup = raccoon _**dog**_

*'shoving his hand in the red's body' – dunno where Gaara's seal is.

* Satori = a mythical ape said to be able to invade minds

* 'sand-chains that seemed to appear out of the darkness'- representation of Gaara's original seal. The darkness represents his conscious.

* 'couple of holes in a round type pattern' – prison style where you can have a conversation with an outsider

* 'Chosen from birth' – Naruto and Gaara in this case


End file.
